Research In Motion quietly announced some BIG news this morning via a blog post by RIM's CTO, David Yach. They have acquired tat - The Astonishing Tribe - which as David says:

Today we are pleased to confirm plans for The Astonishing Tribe (TAT) team to join Research In Motion (RIM). We're excited that the TAT team will be joining RIM and bringing their talent to the BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphone platforms. 

For those who don't know, TAT is renowned for their innovative mobile user interface (UI) designs and has a long history of working with mobile and embedded technology. TAT focuses on delivering great user experiences, from a design, technology, and usability perspective. Their design technology is used today in a variety of industries including the consumer electronics and automotive sectors. Examples of TAT's UI designs and concepts can be viewed on their web site at www.tat.se.  

Man oh man, you gotta love the way RIM goes about its acquisitions. With acquisitions like Torch, QNX, and now tat, RIM is really pulling in all the pieces it needs to ensure BlackBerry will be fighting for a long time to come in the smartphone space. I'm sure tat has already been working on some RIM projects (PlayBook) prior to becoming part of RIM, but lets hope they go to work quick so you can see and use a little of tat's kick ass UI talent on your next BlackBerry in the (hopefully) near future.