Bit.ly is completely rebranding its service from a website to shorten URLs to what appears to be a direct competitor to StumbleUpon, Delicious, or even Instapaper for saving and sharing links from around the web. As part of the big changes, Bit.ly is out with an iPhone app.
The revamp revolves around what Bit.ly is calling bitmarks, which are interesting links you find that you want to save or share. These can be organized into bundles or displayed on your own personal profile. URL shortening is now just one small component of the entire Bit.ly experience and can be accessed once you save a link and wish to share it.
The iPhone app serves as a complement to the new Bit.ly. It’s an easy way to access all of your bitmarks on the go or add new ones. You can tap a bitmark in the app to view how many clicks it’s received, organize it into a bundle, or copy the bit.ly shortlink we’re all familiar with. It also allows you to view the content of that link in a form that’s easier on the eyes by removing unwanted sidebars and ads, a feature many popular read-it-later services offer.
A feature present in the Bit.ly app I always found to help boost productivity in Instapaper is a prompt upon opening the app if you have a link already saved to the iPhone’s clipboard to automatically add it as a bitmark.
The Bit.ly app is free for iPhone and iPod touch and there’s no sign of an Android app just yet. Be sure to check it out in the App Store or tour the new Bit.ly on the web.