Apple (NADSAQ: AAPL) May Overhaul iTunes, Increase Sample Length to 60 seconds

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), the largest digital music retailer, is expected to boost the amount of time users can listen to a sample song as part of a larger overhaul of its iTunes store.

CEO Steve Jobs is expected to take the stage on Wednesday at Apple’s annual September media event which has traditionally focused on iPods and music devices. CNET reported that Jobs is expected to announce that iTunes will double the amount of time that users can listen to a sample of a song, and perhaps as long as 90 seconds. iTunes currently offers 30-second snippets  to help give users a taste of the music to help them decide whether or not they like the song enough to buy.

The event is also expected to widely focus around music discovery and discuss how Apple will improve its iTunes music discover experience.

It has been rumored for a while that Apple will launch a cloud-based music service which has been under significant discussion on rumor sites in recent months. CNET said that Apple hasn’t gotten the music licenses which major music labels would require to allow users to store their music libraries on the company’s service and access them from web-enable d devices. If Apple were to decide that it wouldn’t need new licensing, it could bring the cloud-based service option back into the realm of possibility.

Apple is also expected to make a number of hardware announcements at the event, including new iterations of the iPod Touch and the iPod Nano. The iPod Touch is expected to feature many of the features of the iPhone 4 and the iPod Nano is expected to undergo a significant re-design and lose its click-wheel. The new iPod Nano is expected to look similar to the previous generation iPod shuffle, which featured a smaller, square design and a clip.

Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The Company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, the Company sells a variety of third-party Macintosh (Mac), iPhone and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The Company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business (SMB), education, enterprise, government and creative customers. In December 2009, the Company acquired digital music service Lala.

Shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) traded up 0.33% hitting $243.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday.