RIM could add NFC to BlackBerrys ‘in the near term’
By Mike Clark 
| nfcworld.com | November 19th, 2010
Discussing NFC at the Web 2.0 Summit, RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie said "we'd be fools not to have it in the near term... and we're not fools."
BALSILLIE: 'The wise person tries to align with banks on NFC and payments'
Following Google CEO Eric Schmidt's revelation on Monday that the next generation Android Gingerbread operation system will include support for NFC, RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie has also hinted that the BlackBerry maker could be adding NFC to its devices soon.
Asked by Web 2.0 Summit co-host John Battelle if Research In Motion will be following Google's lead and putting NFC in future devices Balsillie laughed, "I don't comment on future products but we'd be fools not to have it in the near term... and we're not fools."
Later on, in an interview peppered with references to the interplay between banks and carriers, Balsillie is asked who will hold and provide credentials for mobile payments. "The smart person constructively aligns with the banks," he says.
And a little later Balsillie again states "I think the wise person tries to align with banks on NFC and payments... but there's more than one way to approach these things."
What can RIM be planning?
• You can watch the full interview below, and find the NFC-relevant sections at 12:16, 15:38 and 17:54 — plus, for conspiracy theorists, an intriguing facial expression soon after 26:05.
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