Apple Insider posted a story that Mac OS X Lion and iTunes users next week will reportedly gain access to Apple's new iCloud software a day or so prior to the launch of iOS 5.

The updates are expected to be available to Mac users before the Oct. 12 release of iOS 5, according to a source for Japanese Apple blog Macotakara. That would suggest a release sometime on either Monday or Tuesday.

Although Apple has not officially stated that an update is needed for either its Lion or iTunes software to be iCloud compatible, testers of the cloud-based service have been using pre-releases of Mac OS X 10.7.2 and iTunes 10.5 that were developed to deliver support.

  Mac OS X Lion and iTunes to get iCloud updates ahead of iOS