Adobe started shipping the Lightroom 3 release today (US$299 new users, US$99 updates; if you want a cheaper price, a number of organizations like NAPP have discount programs for their members with Adobe, and it includes updates).
As usual with Adobe products that have public betas, things have been changed or added in the shipping release. Most notably profile-based lens corrections, geometric lens corrections, perspective correction, plus a host of new templates and presets. That's on top of the already known new features, like the redone conversion engine.
Someone asked me why I don't usually write about pre-release products or make beta product announcements on this site. Simple: they're not products yet. Moreover, it's usually very difficult to predict exactly what their performance will be and when you'll be able to get them. Witness the Pentax 645D, which had a longer gestation period than any mammal. And in Adobe's case, they always leave things out of the public beta.
We have enough crazy hype about current products without resorting to building up more hype about them prior to release. When we can actually put our hands on them and use the final product, that's when any commentary about them starts to be both believable and useful. That said, the shipping version of Lightroom 3 at first glance looks to be a solid update to an already good product. As I get more experience with it, I'll add more commentary.