CBJ, a big boy at Egosoft, has posted here a pretty lengthy guide detailing the new features of Albion Prelude. It is a good read, and has made me consider pausing Skyrim (blasphemous!). However, he only has this to say about the new map:
Map
Albion
Albion is a key area of space that will feature heavily in X Rebirth.
You can get your first glimpses of Albion in X3: Albion Prelude, and
see emerging signs of the momentous changes that new technology will
bring to the X Universe. Look out for the corporations that are
driving this new technology and vying for control of the new sectors
and the valuable resources they contain.
Other
The X Universe is a dynamic place, and even in the short time since
X3: Terran Conflict some things have changed. New space has been
discovered, control of some sectors has been lost by the people who
once lived there, and in a few cases gates have mysteriously shut down
cutting off routes that were once busy thoroughfares. We won't be
spoiling the fun for explorers, however, by giving precise details
about what has changed!
And I found a quick 'initial-glance' list from EmperorJon
Universe Changes -
Many of your familiar Unknown Sectors have been
claimed. Some more have appeared. The North East of the universe is
different! Zyarth's Dominion no longer links to Ocean of Fantasy, the
Split sector in between them is GONE! It's a dead end Split area up
there. Sector descriptions suggest they're trapped and the gates are
beginning to fail as the Xenon advance. Bluish Snout now links to 4 of
the "player sectors". Xenon Core 023 now links through to Xenon
sectors connected to Aldrin! So Heretic's End isn't the ONLY way to
the Solar System... Wink Harmony of Perpetuity is included, and owned
by the Goners.
It is definitely a big improvement on TC, and should certainly give fun until TNBT comes along.
To quote Gazz, the legendary author of MARS and many other scripts:
No revolution but a lot of evolution. =)
EDIT: And you can now have a balance of 2,000,000,000,000,000,000 credits, not 2B :D