At the recently held WIMA NFC conference, Nokia officials did a lot of talking about being at the forefront of NFC technology. The company also took time to show off some of the NFC applications it plans to have operational before the end of 2013.

Apart from applications, Nokia showed off a great deal of NFC-enabled hardware at the conference, though it is not certain when these devices will make it to market.

"We've been talking about Nokia's position in the NFC industry, product portfolio, NFC enabled devices and Nokia Gear products," said Sami Pippuri, head of product marketing at Nokia Developer Experience. "At the expo we've been showing the latest devices and the ecosystem around them."

Nokia held workshops for developers on how to implement NFC into applications for Windows Phone 8 devices and probably the Asha line of handsets.

One particular NFC application Nokia demoed was the McDonald app, which allows the user to order food in advance. This application is an upgrade of the previous app that was developed by Airtag. (Read our Airtag interview)

When it came to hardware, Nokia showed off a plethora of NFC-enabled hardware devices such as Bluetooth speakers and wireless chargers, all with NFC wireless capability.

"We'll be showing and talking about accessories such as the new Nokia Wireless Charging Car Holder and JBL PowerUp speakers that have both pairing and connecting by NFC," said Tomi Penttilä, head of Nokia Gear. "With NFC-enabled Nokia Gear products now in the hands of consumers, it's time for the industry to take note," he concluded.

The big question is: how many consumers have bought into purchasing a NFC device that is not a phone? Some who have NFC-capable handsets may have never been compelled to purchase another device to pair with the phones. NFC devices and applications may need to have more compelling features for users to find enticing.