Apple customers now get moviesfrom iTunes, rather than download.

Apple customers have been given a leg up on the competition, as its movies are now available to stream from iTunes, rather than download.

iTunes in the Cloud has been expanded to allow viewers to watch movies purchased through iTunes on iPhones and iPads without using any extra storage space on the devices – vital for devices with small storage capacities.

This means after purchasing the items in the iTunes Store, users are effectively streaming the films to their devices without storing gigabytes of data on the device itself – this includes full HD movies at 1920x1080p.

While not a revolutionary move in itself (the service has been available in the US for a year), it is the only of its kind in the UK as Amazon’s Cloud Player remains US only, and Google’s Play store launched here without any movies or TV shows.

Apple has already secured the rights with major studios Warner Bros, Universal, ABC-Disney, Fox, Paramount and Sony. It launches today with Sherlock Holmes and Bridesmaids.

The move gives Apple users a serious leg up on the competition by having a more complete entertainment eco-system. Google Android devices, while arguably superior hardware wise, still have limited access to legal film and TV content. Microsoft’s Windows Store and RIM BlackBerry App Store are even worse.