Barnes & Noble is set to bring NFC support to the Nook, in a move that could happen this year.

Big things are certainly happening for Barnes & Noble this week, with the news that Microsoft is ploughing major dollars into a new subsidiary called Newco which will help push the Nook e-reader, and tie it in with the Windows 8 platform.

Developments for the Nook hardware don't stop there, however. CEO William Lynch revealed in an interview with Fortune that Barnes & Noble intends to embed NFC chips in the e-reader.

Lynch said: "We can work with the publishers so they would ship a copy of each hardcover with an NFC chip embedded with all the editorial reviews they can get on BN.com. And if you had your Nook, you can walk up to any of our pictures, any of our aisles, any of our bestseller lists, and just touch the book, and get information on that physical book on your Nook and have some frictionless purchase experience. That's coming, and we could lead in that area."

When he was further asked if NFC support would be coming this year, Lynch replied "maybe".

Barnes & Noble also recently launched a new Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, for bedtime reading. Demand has apparently exceeded the firm's expectations, and the GlowLight version is currently sold out, with production being ramped up.

Source: Fortune