Content-discovery app StumbleUpon goes mobile with iPhone, Android

StumbleUpon, the social network-based web content discovery service, announced today that it has launched mobile applications for both the iPhone and Android handsets that will allow users to randomly find and rate new sites while they are on the go.

Just like StumbleUpon does on the web, its mobile apps overlay a branded bar over websites, containing a choice of tools. Users can upvote or downvote content, or transport themselves to a completely random page with a single click. As per usual, the same bar lets users share content they like with their friends and via their social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

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People who want to use the iPhone or Android apps need to register with StumbleUpon beforehand — which is simply enough done on a handset. This allows the service to sync users’ favorite lists, topic preferences and contacts with no extra work required. Now, if you specify that you want to see entertainment, sports or food-related content, you can browse these categories like channels right on your phone.

The one thing that faithful StumbleUponers might object to is how slow pages load over standard mobile networks. To compensate, the service is now providing thumbnail previews of pages before sending users directly to them. That way, users can choose where they want to go next based on page views, likes, and reviews from fellow users.

StumbleUpon’s new mobile releases follow closely on the heals of its June iPad app release. It plans to launch versions for still other platforms within the next several months.

Based in New York, the company has raised more than $1.5 million to date from Accel Partners, Sherpalo Ventures and August Capital.