The new interface is more user friendly and provides easier navigation and more 'data at a glance'. For me, the timing couldn't have been better. Drilling out a new PPC campaign, it was nice to have an alternate look.
The AdWords Beta is not a finished product but is mostly functional. Some links will take you back to the original online interface but,so far, it's looking pretty good.
Google product manager Bhanu Narasimhan provides a walk-through in this video:
While there is no post (yet?) to the Adwords Blog (I suspect this is a slow roll-out), I would encourage regular users to start getting used to it.
Important Sidenote for PPC administrators: In the event the you PPC guys (and gals) missed it, the Adwords log-in will be down for system maintenance from approximately 10AM - 2PM tomorrow.
Update 1: More information about the AdWords Beta can be found here.
Update 2: Adsense publishers should also be aware the the Google Adsense interface is also expected to be offline from approximately 10-2 PT tomorrow.
Great Weekend all
Charlie