Windows Phone 7.1, a.k.a. Mango, goes official, here's what's new

Mango, a.k.a. Windows Phone 7.1, is served - along with 500 new features. Multitasking is among them, as is much deeper social networking integration, improved message handling and more.

The WP 7.1 update will be shipping on new phones this fall and it will be made available to existing Windows Phone 7 users for free at the same time. And there will be new devices to come - aside from the widely publicized deal with Nokia, Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE will be making Windows Phone 7.1 devices too.

Microsoft has added a long list of supported languages to greatly expand the reach of Windows Phone to new countries.

Here’s a summary of new features.

Multitasking is one of the most hotly expected features. It uses a card interface to switch between apps, very similar to what we've seen in WebOS.

Messaging is done on threads, combining various services - within a single conversation you can switch between SMS, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger seamlessly. You can dictate your message or have an incoming text read to you, thanks to the text-to-speech and speech-to-text features.

Twitter and LinkedIn has joined the social networking prowess of Windows Phone too and Facebook check-in functionality as well as face tagging in photos are built-in. You can pin whole groups of people as live tiles and monitor updates from people in the group or message the whole group right from your Start screen. Live tiles are improved in general - they are can display much more info than their v7.0 counterparts.

App connect helps third-party apps integrate into the Hubs of Windows Phone 7.1 to enhance the core experience of the phone. Apps will also be included in search results, making search in Mango much more universal.

Internet Explorer 9 is coming with the Mango update too (it's based on the capable desktop browser). IE9 for Windows Phone 7.1 supports hardware acceleration.

Bing services have been extended - Bing Vision (think Google Goggles), Music Search and Voice offer new ways to search the web. A curious new feature, called Quick Cards, will give you instant access to key information (including related apps) whenever you search for a product, place, event or movie.

Local scout will help you find what you need nearby - shops, restaurants or activities will be recommended in an "easy-to-use guide".

There's a lot more where that came from - Microsoft has posted over 10 new videos highlighting the new features of Windows Phone 7.1 Mango. Here's the video gallery, enjoy.