engine - 7:03 pm on Nov 16, 2010 (gmt 0)

Eric Schmidt Suggests New Android Phone Would Have Payment Capability [news.cnet.com]

Google plans to support Android phones with near-field communications chips in the next version of Android, which CEO Eric Schmidt said today would arrive in the next few weeks. Schmidt, kicking off the Web 2.0 Summit at the Palace Hotel here in downtown San Francisco, held up an "unannounced product" that appeared to be the Nexus S, which leaked out on Best Buy's Web site last week. The phone--Google unhelpfully covered over the brand label--was running Android 2.3, code-named Gingerbread and used a near-field communications chip that Schmidt thinks could eventually replace credit cards.