Originally Posted by firewire
Which sounds like even Apple is treating this release as a run of the mill update as opposed to a major upgrade.
Right, that's what's bound to happen eventually. Not every iPhone release can be a huge update, there just isn't enough change to make every time around. The first iPhone changed the way phones work, and the next few are going to make minor adjustments to make that a little bit better each time.
The fact that they are allowing preorders is just showing that they're improving the release day process. Instead of having people wait around, they'd rather streamline the process and make it easier for everyone. A good thing.