By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 02:00 PM EST (11:00 AM PST)

Apple today unveiled the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, offering customers the ability to browse, search, preview, purchase and download songs and albums over a Wi-Fi network directly onto their iPod touch or iPhone. Separately, it also announced a service to allow iPhone users to create custom ringtones.

iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store

With the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, music fans can start enjoying their music purchases immediately on their iPod touch or iPhone with no computer required, Apple said. Once they connect their iPod touch or iPhone back to their PC or Mac, downloaded music will automatically sync back into their iTunes library.

If users have only partially downloaded a song or album onto their iPod touch or iPhone, their computer will complete the download automatically. Prices and selection on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store are the same as on the regular iTunes Store.

"The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is really fun—you can browse, search, freely preview, buy and instantly download music right onto your iPod touch or iPhone," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Innovative products like this keep iTunes at the forefront of the digital music revolution."

iPhone Ringtones

In addition, iTunes customers will now be able to create custom ringtones by selecting up to a 30-second segment from over a million participating songs on iTunes and easily sync them onto their iPhone.

Once a customer has purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it will only cost 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and easily sync it onto their iPhone.

Customers can personalize their ringtones by choosing which portion of the song they want to use, and setting custom fade in and fade out points. iPhone users can assign a custom ringtone to be their default ringtone and they can also assign them to individual callers in their address book.

iTunes 7.4

In support of its new iPod, iPhone and music features, Apple also has released the next generation of its popular music and video jukebox, iTunes 7.4, now available as a free download at the company's website.

iTunes 7.4 includes a larger viewing area for movies and TV, filling the entire iTunes window for a richer, seamless video playback experience. Users of iTunes 7.4 will also be able rate entire albums as well as individual songs, Apple said.