RIM Snaps Up UI Designer The Astonishing Tribe

Research in Motion today acquired The Astonishing Tribe, a designer of user interfaces for mobile devices, as the BlackBerry continues to makeover the look and feel of its smartphones and tablet PCs.

As Enterprise Mobile Today reports, the deal is just the latest in a series of software acquisitions designed to give the BlackBerry a new look and feel to better compete with Apple’s iPhone and a bevy of Android-powered mobile devices.

“We’re excited that the TAT team will be joining RIM and bringing their talent to the BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphone platforms,” RIM CTO David Yach wrote in blog post announcing the purchase. “TAT focuses on delivering great user experiences, from a design, technology, and usability perspective.”

Research in Motion today gave yet another clear signal that it’s serious about bringing a new look and feel to its BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablet PCs when it announced the acquisition of The Astonishing Tribe, the Swedish user interface design firm that helped create the original UI for Android HTC G1 smartphone.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Read the full story at Enterprise Mobile Today:


RIM Acquires UI Designer The Astonishing Tribe