Barron’s also reported that Balsillie said in a recent interview that the “appifying” of the Web has happened, and will return to existing assets. (like Adobe tools, or something like them.) He thinks the app period will pass quickly, according to Barron’s.

He says there is a huge role for apps, but that you should be able should be able produce them with standard Web tools.

You don’t need an app for the Web. This idea that you have to go through special development tools, that is not true, he says.

He also confirmed that the PlayBook tablet will ship in the first quarter. Research In Motion's PlayBook is the company's new tablet.

Balsillie says RIM did early tests, and it is three to four times faster to run processes on a PlayBook tablet as on Apple’s iPad, reports Barron’s.

On RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger, he says it is one of the rare cases where they have moved forward in the app space.

He also said RIM is not stuck in the enterprise sector. Consumer business is growing around the world, he says. There is tremendous growth in BBM and peer-to-peer, he said. What you are seeing, too, is that all kinds of things are moving to the mobile services space, Balsillie said.

With the PlayBook and BlackBerry, he says, you get the mobility plus professional grade devices. Enterprises are looking to do things differently than they used to, he says. That sector will go through enormous growth, he predicts.

On near-field communications for mobile payments and other devices: Balsillie says they would be fools not to have it in a device in the near-term, Barron’s reports.