They're pink!
http://forums.applenova.com/showthre...highlight=pink
At least, it seems some of them appear to exhibit this defect. I'd stay away from them until it gets sorted out. Or get your friend's if it doesn't have this problem.
As far as the difference (besides the aluminum casing), the new panels have a faster pixel response, and have slightly better brightness/contrast ratios.
They got updated at WWDC 2004 (middle of last year).