Sources have toldBloombergthat Microsoft is working on bringing Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to Windows Phone 7-powered handsets, ensuring the Redmond-based company is not left behindGoogle’s Androidplatform and also iOS, should reports that Apple is to debut the technology inside its platform be true. If the reports are true, Microsoft would work much the same as Google did, including NFC support within its most current mobile operating system, allowing mobile manufacturers to develop the hardware to make use of the functionality embedded within the software....

Microsoft has reportedly provided strategic Windows Phone partners Nokia and Samsung with a £28 million marketing investment to assist the smartphone makers in boosting the profile of the company’s Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) platform and associated new handsets,Mobile Today reports. Nokia is set to receive the lion’s share of the donation, taking £20 million of Microsoft’s Windows Phone warchest as part of its deal with the Redmond-based software giant earlier in the year....

Rumors have suggested Microsoft is working on a Surface Duo 2 and a successor to the Surface Book 3, which may or may not make an appearance at the company’sSeptember 22 event. Now another rumor by German siteWinFuturepoints to one device we’re pretty confident will show up: the Surface Go 3. The Surface Go is one of my favorite Surface devices due to its relatively low price point and tiny form factor — it makes for an excellent student PC or secondary tablet....

Windows 10X, Microsoft’s Chrome OS competitor that was announced in 2019 alongside theSurface Neo, has apparently been shelved, according to a report fromPetri. While it’s not clear if Microsoft hascompletelyabandoned the project, it’s not arriving this year and the “company has shifted resources to Windows 10 and 10X is on the back burner,” according to Petri’s sources. Microsoft has a long and messy history of trying to make ‘light’ versions of Windows that are optimized for mobile devices....

Microsoft is set to introduce one of the first tablet devices running its new Windows 8 operating system at its BUILD conference commencing on September 13, a device born from the first hardware collaboration between the Redmond-based software giant and Korean electronics behemoth Samsung. The Korea Economic Daily, citing industry sources, issued a report noting the collaboration, seemingly confirming Microsoft’s intentions to drive the tablet-friendly nature of its new desktop and tablet OS....