Now the BlackBerry maker is looking to win back some mobile ground it lost to Apple’s iPhone and Android-powered devices, by boosting the capabilities of its handsets via the acquisition of  Paratek Microwave. Paratek designs and manufactures adaptive radio frequency front-end components solutions for mobile devices.

“Watch out providers of mobile phones,” Alan Spoon, general partner at Polaris Venture Partners, posted on the Polaris blog. Polaris is a lead investor in Paratek. “Integrating Paratek’s technology into mobile phones is a game changer,” Spoon continued.

Spoon provided a couple of reasons why the integration of Paratek’s technology into its smartphones is so beneficial for RIM. Chief amongst these is that the technology enables smartphone users to upload and download large amounts of data quicker.

According to Spoon, this allows for longer battery usage since devices spend less time downloading info, which is a big drainer of battery life. Mobile phones will also be more compact and slimmer, due to Paratek’s effective antennae design, Spoon added.

Besides extended usage, snappier data downloads and thinner devices, Spoon said that Paratek’s Tunable RF technology, will enhance the smartphone user experience by reducing dropped calls and enabling more reliable data flow, as users move across different frequency bands (GPRS to EDGE to 3G etc.).

“As a part of RIM, a technology leader and pioneer in the smartphone category, Paratek will continue to innovate and to bring leading edge adaptive tuning solutions to the industry. We are very excited about this transaction and the opportunity to serve RIM and realize our vision,” Ralph Pini, president and CEO of Paratek Microwave said.

In related news, Samsung recently announced that ChatOn, its instant messaging (IM) service for bada and Android, is now available to download for owners of iOS-operating mobile devices, with Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS-powered devices to follow suit soon.