GLOBAL – We’ve just received some great news from our friends at Microsoft. Yesterday, the Windows Phone development team officially signed off on the release to manufacturing (RTM) build of “Mango” – the latest version of the Windows Phone operating system and the one that will power the first Nokia with Windows Phones devices. This is excellent news for all those involved in the Windows Phone ecosystem and gets us one step closer to delivering the first Nokia with Windows Phone smartphone this year.

You can read more about the RTM in a blog post here from Microsoft’s Terry Myserson who notes that this release includes hundreds of new features that create a smarter and easier approach to communications and apps while delivering the best web experience. Take a look at some of Terry’s favorite features:

• Our unique new email Conversation View which helps me to efficiently participate in long email discussions with my friends and co-workers.
• Threads that bring together my text, IM, and Facebook chat all into one conversation.
• App Multitasking, enabling me to efficiently work on my email, listen to music, and then pop in and out of Words By Post games when it is my turn. Mango also connects apps to search results and deepens integration within the Hubs like Music and Video and Pictures
• Internet Explorer 9 for fast web browsing and support for new HTML 5 web sites.

Let us know what you’re excited to see with the first Nokia with Windows Phone smartphones.