By now, you’re well aware (hopefully) that WordPress 3.3 was released on Monday to the masses. If you haven’t gotten around to it yet, download the latest version from WordPress – or directly from within your dashboard – and experience the cool new features.

So what’s new? Some others have already written informative posts on this topic, so I’ll stick to quickly highlighting my favorite WordPress 3.3 features:

Drag and Drop Media Uploads are now much easier. Of all the improvements, this is my favorite hands-down! You can now drag and drop your uploads directly into the uploader. It’ll save you a small amount of time, but it sure makes blogging much easier. Image heavy sites, such as magazines and newspapers, will love this feature.

New users will like the quick reference links shown in the Dashboard welcome area. I know that doesn’t sound like a mind-blowing feature, but for those who support new users on a daily basis, this is a godsend.

On the subject of new user experience, there are some neat feature pointers that help users navigate new features. You can bet this feature will be advantageous to theme developers as well.

You’ll notice the dashboard design has been tweaked quite nicely as well. The admin bar has a new toolbar and hovering over menu tabs will reveal fly-out menus. Very sleek!

There’s a long list of other features that are just as impressive such as responsive design. Go download version  3.3 and let us know what you think about the release in the comments below.

NOTE: Before upgrading your existing site, it is highly recommended that you backup your site and deactivate all plugins. Please be advised that some plugins may not yet be compatible with WordPress 3.3.