Report: iTunes in the Cloud Still A No-Go, But Preview Song Lengths Will Double

At tomorrow’s iPod Event, many of us are expecting some sort of announcement about iTunes entering the cloud by offering media streaming functionality, but CNet is reporting a much more mundane development in iTunes’ likely streaming capabilities: they expect song preview samples to double in length come Wednesday.

The move is seen as an attempt to address criticisms that 30 seconds simply isn’t enough time to preview a song. That might seem rather silly — 30 seconds of a three minutes song is one-sixth its length — but the competition (YouTube) gives you the whole song to listen to for free, including the ability to buy the song on either iTunes

Additionally, CNet is reporting that any bolder efforts to shift iTunes into the cloud are not likely to appear Wednesday, since the appropriate deals still aren’t in place. If we see a streaming iTunes roll-out, smart money is it being for television only right now.

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