WordPress 3.1 is now available and brings with it a number of new features

The new WordPress 3.1 release is here. CMS Critic has been updated to this new release and one of the newest features is the introduction of a handy new admin bar.

WordPress 3.1 Admin bar in action:

The admin bar has a number of benefits such as quickly creating a shortlink, editing the post (opens the post editor within the dashboard) and much more.

So far, we see no issue with the upgrade (at least on our site). Let us know your experiences within the comments!

From the announcement:

The long-awaited fourteenth release of WordPress is now available. WordPress 3.1 “Reinhardt” is named in honor of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Version 3.1 is available for download, or you can update from within your dashboard.

This release features a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages, an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages, a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers (visit Screen Options in the top right to get old panels back), and a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options.

There’s a bucket of candy for developers as well, including our new Post Formats support which makes it easy for themes to create portable tumblelogs with different styling for different types of posts, new CMS capabilities like archive pages for custom content types, a new Network Admin, an overhaul of the import and export system, and the ability to perform advanced taxonomy and custom fields queries.

With the 3.1 release, WordPress is more of a CMS than ever before. The only limit to what you can build is your imagination.

You can download this latest release or update from within your dashboard.