Free turn-by-turn navigation, free music mixes, bold handset designs - Nokia's relationship with the Windows Phone platform has brought a number of exciting features. So what's next? Nokia design chief Marko Ahtisaari reckons NFC and wireless charging could be on the horizon.

According to Ahtisaari, Nokia's design guru, the company is currently working on Windows Phone handsets with NFC capabilities. Nokia has already introduced Near Field Communication technology to Symbian devices such as the Nokia 700, which enables them to connect to Bluetooth peripherals like speaker docks and wireless headsets with the minimum of fuss. You can also initiate data transfers in a similar way.

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The reason the Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710 don't contain NFC is that the Windows Phone OS they run on doesn't yet fully support the technology. Microsoft has promised that future iterations will, however - particularly in view of the forthcoming mobile payment revolution. The ability to pay for goods in shops by tapping your phone against the pay point will be a major feature in future smartphones.

A number of major hardware and credit card companies are investing in this technology, and Andy Lees - Microsoft's head of Windows Phone - said last year that his company was "providing technological building blocks so payments can be done on the phone" some time in 2012. Nokia's own Stephen Elop recently revealed at CES that "NFC is growing in importance, and I personally believe in it," so all the signs point to a Nokia Windows Phone with NFC in the not too distant future.

Besides commenting on NFC, Nokia's Marko Ahtisaari also told The Guardian that he envisioned a time when no ports would be necessary on Nokia's phones - an indicator that wireless charging methods could also make their way into future Nokia Windows Phone handsets.

There's nothing concrete on when we'll see these features implemented into Nokia Windows Phone devices, but it's good to know that the company is considering and experimenting with them. Which concept do you find most appealing - NFC or wireless charging? Let us know in the comments section below.