Google CEO: Android update "could replace credit cards"

By Julianne Pepitone

SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney.com) -- The next generation of Android is coming in a few weeks, and that update to the mobile operating system "could replace credit cards," according to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt. At the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Schmidt said Android 2.3 (code-named Gingerbread) will combine location services with "tap-and-pay" functionality.

"Imagine that instead of typing my search, my phone is sending me information all the time," Schmidt said. "Maybe I tell [my phone] I need a pair of pants, and I get relevant information as I walk down the street."
Android, an open-source operating system widely used in smartphones, will soon use so-called "near-field communications" sensors to read RFID tags and link up with other phones and payment systems. That move will put Google squarely in the center of the growing field of developers working on mobile payments.

Schmidt showed off an "unannounced device" running on Android. The phone, which was black with rounded edges, looked like the rumored Nexus S.

Source: cnn