As we learned at the Palm Pre launch, it takes almost no time for fanatical repair geeks/technoporn freaks to strip a gadget down to its bare bones for exhibition. The guys (and probably gals) at Rapid Repair have done just that with the 3GS, showing off her pretty insides to the rest of the world (that felt creepy to write – is this how you felt, Anthony Hopkins?).

Of particular interest are the processor stats and a closer look at the camera. For the processor, the 3GS is running on an underclocked 833MHz CPU. Yes, underclocked. My guess is they’ve done that for heat’s sake, and likely also because there may not yet be a need for that sort of power. Granted, some people will want to pull as much as they can get from the phone, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few performance hacks in the near future.

Rapid Repair also reports the camera as capable of 720p recording. Could this be a possible feature in a future OS? Though the new video recording is nice, a quality upgrade would take the phone to a new level as a media device.

Like many new devices, it will probably be a bit before we see the full potential of the 3GS hardware. Rapid Repair calls the CPU running the new iPhone truly cutting-edge, giving unprecedented processing power. I can’t wait to see what that means.

Happy Palm Pre launch day – no seriously, I know I’ve been a little bit harsh on the phone, and critical of Palm’s strategy going forward here, but everyone should be happy when they get a sweet new gadget. And early impressions do suggest the phone is sweet.

So for you early adopters, palm enthusiasts, technoporn addicts, what have you, Rapid Repair’s got the first look inside your new Pre. From the looks of things, taking apart the Pre is not for the faint of heart, so I hope you have steady hands. With a little persistence, though, you can get down to the pretty internals.

According to the guys at RR, the Pre’s components come in just over $170 – pretty shocking when you consider the out-of-contract prices we’ve seen. Could this mean early price cuts when Verizon and AT&T pick up the phone early next year? Component costs can only go down, right?

For now, a contracted $200 seems much more in line, since you are paying to be on the cutting edge, and those designers and former Apple engineers deserve a decent meal from time to time.