iTunes users in the United States can now listen for a little longer before deciding to buy from the iTunes Music Store, after Apple made good on a promise to extend preview lengths to 90 seconds.
As reported last month, songs that are two and a half minutes or longer will gain 90 second previews, while previews for songs shorter than two and a half minutes will remain at 30 seconds. Music labels were first notified of the change in a letter from Apple obtained by AppleInsider, confirming months of speculation about a change in preview lengths.
But before US iTunes users rush out to gorge themselves on an extra-long preview or two, there"s a slight hitch at this point - longer previews have only been made available for certain songs, with no easy way to tell which songs have had their previews stretched and which have not. A quick check by Neowin showed five out of the ten tracks on the iTunes single chart had 90-second previews enabled.
Users outside the US of A will also be left waiting for a while yet, with no indication as to when longer previews will be enabled for the rest of the music-listening world. Those who simply can"t help themselves can, of course, simply switch the region of their iTunes Music Store.