What is an Apple fan boy to think? Research In Motion has scooped up Don Lindsay, one of the original masterminds behind the iPhone user interface, mocoNews has learned. In his new role, he will be charged with “creating” the VP of user experience, according to his updated LinkedIn profile. Spokespeople at RIM and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last month, RIM hired Lindsay from Microsoft, where he worked for five years as a design director for Live Labs and contributed to the Windows Vista user experience. But it is likely his eight years at Apple that was of more interest to RIM, where Lindsay’s work left a larger legacy on the mobile industry. At Apple, he led the Mac OS X interface concept project and directed the Design team responsible for the User Experience for Mac OS X. Simply put, that means Lindsay helped develop the iPhone interface. The Ottawa Citizen reported in July 2007 that Lindsay left Nortel in 1994 to join Apple, where “he hired the team that created the Macintosh Computer’s OS X

operating system. Though Lindsay now works at Microsoft, where he runs a design group at Microsoft Live Labs, his influence at Apple would remain profound. His OS X team created the user interface for the iPhone.”

Lindsay’s rap sheet probably won’t hurt in bringing BlackBerry devices to the next level. He’s been named inventor on “forty utility and design patents covering core user experience, application frameworks, mobility and speech user interfaces.”

What do you think about RIM’s acquisition? Post your comments.

[via mocoNews]

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