If you feel left out today because prefer your smartphone OS without any sort of fruit involved, then I've got good news for you.  Microsoft announced today that Windows Phone 7 has reached gold master status and that it's being sent to manufacturers so that they can begin tweaking and testing the OS.  There are also a few new additions that have recently been added to the OS, such as the ability to filter your contacts when you use the Facebook integration.  The OS looks through your Facebook friends list and your contact list for matches and, if you have a Facebook friend that is not in your contacts, it does not add that friend into your contacts list.  Users also have the ability to both "like" and comment on posts straight from Microsoft's People Hub.  Finally, there are several tweaks and enhancements added to make WP7 the best it can be.

The news that Windows Phone 7 has been released to manufacturers has me extremely excited.  With Android 2.2, iOS 4/4.1, MeeGo, BlackBerry 6, and the recent webOS 2.0 news, the smartphone world has been hotter than ever, and the impending arrival of WP7 is going to make it even hotter.  How many of you are thinking about picking up a Windows Phone 7 handset, like one of the many leaked devices, when the OS is unleashed?

Via Engadget