i don't trust software that keeps tabs on how many downloads it gets on the first day. if it's good, the people will come.
having said that, i just downloaded and installed on my work laptop. i really can't tell the difference in speed, i think it really depends on your internet connection and whether you have cache enabled, which i don't.
the default config also put me off, but giving us the option to change it is a good thing, unlike that awful ugly chrome.
the top bar got bigger even with the settings like i use them, so that's another inch or so of web page you lose.
everything else is good, it's the same o' Firefox.
edit: another thing i just noticed - they put the back, forward, refresh, stop & home far away from each other. i like them close together. hopefully there's an option there to fix that.