The Palm Pre launched yesterday and is certainly the phone that has been most compared to the iPhone. While I’m sure there was a fair amount of people who bought it and love it (and let me just say I personally have not used one yet), but I don’t think Apple has to worry for a variety of reasons.

Although the new iPhone 3G doesn’t bring much hardware updates on the inside, the outside brings a relatively new look. Keeping the same form factor and beautiful 3.5 inch touch screen, the 3G iPhone has a plastic back with a much more glossy appeal. Also, the corners and edges have a slighter rounding to them while the phone itself is a bit thinner.

For a gallery full of comparison photos, click through to after the break.

Being the devoted Apple user that I am, I stood in line at my local Mayfair Apple Store in Wisconsin for two hours on July 11th to get my iPhone. I was sixth in line, and the wait was totally worth it. The customer experience you receive at the Apple Store is like no other. Luckily for you who weren’t able to make it, I have taken some photos for you to enjoy.

Check them out after the break!

A man by the name of Hiroyuki Sano has started a line at the Apple Softbank flagship store in Japan, and will be the first to have a legit Asian iPhone. Serkan Toto over at CrunchGear was lucky enough to interview him, and he found out some interesting details about just how much this man wants his iPhone. For example, he traveled 230 miles from his hometown and skipped four days of college to be able to get his key spot in line. Also, his travel fees cost him a total of $213, more than the 8GB iPhone itself. This man is dedicated.

Check him out in a video after the break.