Google has reportedly acquired Bitspin, the Swiss company best known for its beautifully designed Android alarm clock app Timely. Bitspin announced the move this week in a blog post, seeking to assure users that the acquisition won't mean Timely is winding down anytime soon: "For new and existing users, Timely will continue to work as it always has," the Bitspin team's blog post reads. That's good news for those Timely fans like The Verge's Dan Seifert who found the app's "clean design and fun animations make it a joy to use." And given Google's precedent for acquiring and killing off or neglecting beloved services, the assurance of continued operations is certainly a welcome one. Timely is available for free on Google Play, and all previously paid in-app purchases for new themes have been made free (thanks LinkDJ!).

Update: Sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to us that Google did acquire Timely and plans to keep the app available for free indefinitely, including premium clock faces.