iTunes Adds In-Browser App Store Previews

iTunes has followed up their recent addition of in-browser music previews with in-browser App Store previews, changing the way iTunes link work from a simple redirect to desktop iTunes to a full-on web showcase for the app in question.

Whether or not this is a step towards the much rumored iTunes.com — the moving of iTunes from desktop to cloud — is harder to say. For Safari users on Mac, the old browser redirect process was so fast as to be pretty much invisible. You click the link, see a brief message, and boom — iTunes is open, on top, and displaying the item you requested. For other browsers on other OS, like Windows, it could be a less elegant experience at times. iTunes might not launch at all (especially on Linux where there’s still no iTunes).

While this doesn’t provide a solution in actually getting to iTunes, it does make sure that, when you don’t move past the browser, you still get to see information based on the link you clicked.

Let us know how it works for you on your system!

(Thanks to Glasshouse Apps for the tip!)