Today, Microsoft has announced the release of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 and made available to MSDN subscribers.

Visual Studio Beta 2 has got significant enhancements since Beta 1.  The release is mainly focused on performance and stability, including integrated tool for SharePoint, including project templates and debugging support, and support for developing Windows 7 applications.

Somasegar says:

We’ve been making improvements to the .NET Framework as well. I’m happy to say that the download size of .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 is greatly reduced from previous versions of the .NET Framework, with most flavors coming in under 50 megabytes. Significant improvements to WPF’s text rendering stack make text sharper.  You will notice sharper text in the Visual Studio 2010 editor.

We are also announcing a simplified product lineup and pricing options today, as well as new benefits for MSDN subscribers. For MSDN Premium subscribers, the “Ultimate Offer” will offer access to the next level of Visual Studio 2010 at launch on March 22, 2010.

The new Visual Studio 2010 product lineup:

• Visual Studio 2010 Premium
• Visual Studio 2010 Professional
• Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate

By the way, Express edition has been announced and for now, all editions are available to MSDN subscribers and will be available October 21st for public download.