Ok, after 3.5 hours in line today, I finally was able to pick up a 3g iPhone @ the Apple store in Sacramento, CA.
First, a few comments on the purchase process:
1) The line was moving pretty quickly for the first hour or so after the store opened at 9. Around 10am or so, people who'd been in line last night that had vouchers began showing up, and they were given priority, so that really stalled the progress of the 'today' line. It took over 30min for me to get from being #5 to getting in the store b/c of that. (Not a complaint - the folks w/vouchers waited in line 7 hours or more yesterday, they deserve to go first.)
2) The Apple Store staff were polite, friendly, and very patient. As the mall became more active, tons of people were stopping to gawk at the line, ask questions and crowding the entrance of the Apple store, but the employees did a great job of keeping things under control.
3) Activation was a snap, totally flawless. I think it took longer for the guy who helped me to get an iPhone out of the back than it did to get the activation done. The whole purchase process was probably 15-20 minutes, max. I don't know if it's decreased volume of purchases today or what, but everything's working much better.
4) MobileMe had synced my old contacts/calendar info to my new iPhone before I was out of the store. Very cool.
Now, onto the phone itself:
1) I went with the white, for a few reasons - it looks really crisp to my eyes, it definitely will show stuff less than the black, and it seemed more 'Apple-like' to me. I see what folks are saying about the white phone being something you need to see in person.
2) I agree with everyone who's said the phone fits nicer in the hand. One complaint I had with the original was that it was a bit awkward to hold. It *looked* great, but didn't feel so great in the hand. The new one feels very nice when I hold it. You'd never know it was any bigger unless you put it next to a 1st gen iPhone. When you do, the difference in width is definitely noticeable.
3) The screen seems significantly 'crisper' than my old iPhone, which I had never thought of as at all fuzzy/blurry - but looking at it now, it seems a bit dull & blurry compared to the new one. The color balance on the 3g is a bit more towards the yellow, but it's not at all bothersome to my eyes, and again is something I only recognize when I put it next to my 1st gen phone (which looks a little 'blue' for my liking when I compare them directly).
4) I liked the aluminum of the old phone, but the plastic on the new one looks and feels sturdy enough - certainly more than most any other cellphone I've owned. (Note: why don't more companies use a soft-touch finish like the one on the T-Mobile Dash? I really loved that part of the Dash - didn't show scratches, was super-easy to hold.)
5) GPS seems pretty smooth to me (though I don't have any experience w/other GPS devices to compare). In driving around town this afternoon, it was generally quite accurate, although for a while it had me about 20-30 feet to one side or the other of where I actually was.
6) Battery life is definitely shorter - I'll be keeping it on the charger in the car, at home, and at the office.
7) Web browsing is faster, though not blazing. Edge had been running *really* slowly in my area of late, barely usable. 3G isn't going to match my broadband at home, but definitely much more usable.
8) Haven't done much calling yet, but initial impression is that the sound is louder & clearer. The mic definitely is louder.
Overall, I'm pleased so far. I put an ad on Craigslist for my old 1st gen and had it sold and handed off to the buyer within about an hour and a half of getting home from the Apple Store.
Off to puruse the App Store ...
