The "N" icon is for NFC being enabled

[Blackintuit]

Tried looking through android icon lists on-line, couldn't find what the "N" icon in the top bar was for. It looks kinda like this (what I found off the internet with a different phone.)

It means NFC is on.

It's annoying some people that it's appearing in the status line.
http://www.androidcentral.com/what-s-weird-new-symbol-att-htc-one-x

 

[21stNow]

I don't get it. Most things that are turned on on the phone show up in the status bar. If you turn NFC off, it won't show up in the status bar. Why would the NFC status icon bother them more than the alarm clock or GPS icon?