In a move that highlights the manner in which microblogging site Twitter has nurtured its developer ecosystem, the company has taken over the one-man startup Atebits – the company behind Tweetie, which is the trendy, sophisticated and well-designed Twitter application for the iPhone.

As a result of Twitter’s Atebits acquisition – the terms of which remain undisclosed -, the$2.99-priced Tweetie app will henceforth be a ‘free’ app called “Twitter for iPhone.” Furthermore, Tweetie’s developer, Loren Brichter, will join the Twitter mobile team, and will be involved in the development of the “Twitter for the iPad” app.

Twitter’s iPad-related intentions are not unsurprising, since Twitter investor and Union Square Ventures’ chief Fred Wilson recently expressed the opinion that that Twitter developers need to build entirely separate services – focusing on health, travel, and entertainment - rather than merely “filling holes” in Twitter’s product.

Meanwhile, noting that the Atebits acquisition move is part of Twitter’s endeavors to offer newbies a convenient way to find a well-designed mobile app for reading tweets, the Twitter CEO Ev Williams said: “People are looking for an app from Twitter, and they’re not finding one. So, they get confused and give up. It’s important that we optimize for user benefit and create an awesome experience.”

In fact, in addition to the acquisition of Atebits, Twitter has also launched an official “Twitter for BlackBerry” application.