Research In Motion Acquires tinyHippos

According to Reuters, Research In Motion RIMM has acquired the Ontario-based startup tinyHippos. tinyHippos is the creator of Ripple, a cross-platform mobile application development and testing tool. The acquisition comes as Research In Motion prepares to launch its Playbook tablet computer next month, a market currently crowded by Apple's AAPL iPad and various devices running on Google's GOOG Android platform. Research In Motion's fourth quarter profit was higher-than-forecast on Thursday but warned its earnings would slip while it pumped money into the Playbook launch.