I downloaded the binaries and went over some of the documentation and was pleasantly suprised at all the new bells and whistles the WebSphere team has added to the product. In addition to the new specification support in WebSphere there are new options and features for administrators as well.
Admin Highlights
Flexible Management
Properties File Management
Business Level Applications
More security options and flexibility
Developer Highlights
Java 6
JEE 5 (in core product no "Feature Packs" required)
JSR268 (yay!)
If you want the details on whats coming with WebSphere 7 head on over to the Open Beta site and check it out for yourself. I'd recommend going over the Getting Started documentation available if you want to read up on the new and shiny parts of WebSphere first.
Link: IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment V7.0 Open Beta
