Apple is finally releasing the latest version of its Mac OS X operating system, called Mountain Lion, on July 25 (today), according to its CFO Peter Oppenheimer. No specific release time has been announced, but Oppenheimer announced the release date during the July 24 earnings call.

The release is just four days later than the July 20, 2011 OS X Lion release, which was launched in the morning.

The minimum requirements for machines to run Mountain Lion is an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor; 2GB of memory; 8GB of free storage; and the Lion or Snow Leopard operating systems. Users running the latter operating system will need to upgrade to the 10.6.8 version.

Mountain Lion is the next step towards the convergence of iOS and OS X despite Apple releasing three separate products - Macs, iPhones/iPod Touches, and iPads - across the operating systems. Apple CEO Time Cook also claimed that building two-in-one devices - namely, Microsoft Surface tablets - compromise the user experience. Below are the notable features.

iCloud

iCloud, Apple's cloud storage service, arrives on the operating system. Content, including e-mail and contacts, is synced between Macs and iPhones, iPods, and iPads. Sign in once and the content will sync thereafter.

Reminders, Notes

Perhaps slightly overlapping in functionality, the self-explanatory Notes app arrives with Mountain Lion along with the newer Reminders app for iOS, allowing users to set to-do events and check boxes when completed. It's possible to either set up a geofence around a location, to be notified when leaving a said location, or set a geofence from a Mac to be notified on an iPhone or iPad when arriving at a destination.

iMessage

Probably replacing iChat, iMessage is Apple's cross-device messaging service - think BlackBerry Messenger, without the friend codes - soon to be working on Mountain Lion. It's free and an option to start Facetime chats is available.

Notification Center

Yes, Apple brings its pull-down Notification Center from iOS to Mountain Lion. However, users on the desktop or laptop swipe from the left to open the Center. It'll show notifications for Notification Center-enabled apps.

Facebook and Twitter integration

The social networks follow the iOS-enabled brothers by allowing status updates to be posted from a small pop-up box. Facebook friends' photos will be added to the Contact List. Photos and links can be posted, while status updates can be sent from Notification Center. Twitter integration is similar in nature, allowing Tweets to be sent in-app.

However, the Facebook integration isn't arriving until fall.

OS X Mountain Lion will be available digitally from the Mac App Store, exclusively, and will be retailing for $19.99.