Apple iOS 5 and Google Android Gingerbread (as well as the company's upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich) may grasp the lion's share of the mobile operating system market share, but Microsoft is still a major player. Its Windows Phone 7 OS, the successor to the maligned Windows Mobile, uses Microsoft's slick, tile-based "Metro" design (a vital component in Windows 8) as its core design element. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 update, otherwise known as "Mango," builds on that very solid foundation by including an improved Web browser, Twitter and LinkedIn integration, a terrific interface for creating ad-hoc groups of friends, the option for Wi-Fi hotspot mode and much more.

More importantly for this piece, Mango brings increased app functionality in the form of improved Live Tiles (which now serve up even more app-specific data), App Connect (includes relevant apps that you already have on your phone in Bing results, plus recommends others), Intelligent Multitasking (you can, for example, pause a game to send a text), and Xbox Live multiplayer support. Mango, in short, is a big league update.

According to Microsoft, there are over 30,000 apps and games in the Windows Phone Marketplace that you can download to your handset. Many of these apps were written pre-Mango, so only a portion of them support the features that the update brings (Facebook, Spotify). Microsoft, however, is encouraging developers, both new and existing, to write their code with Windows Phone 7.5 in mind.

That said, the following slideshow highlights several apps the leverages Mango's functionality. ASome of your favorite non-Windows Phone 7.5 Mango apps may not be included, because they haven't been updated, and not all of the apps here are marquee apps, because there simply aren't that many apps (yet) that specifically make use of the new Mango features. Still, if you've upgraded to Microsoft's latest phone operating system, you'll want to check out these apps as they showcase Mango's muscle.

As always, feel free to chime in with your own favorite Mango apps in the comment section below.