I am sorry that there weren't more features built into 2.0, too, but the amount of work that went into changing the compiler and backbone of the 2.x and future versions was prodigious. The decision was made by Forte to release 2.0 as you found it. 2.1 is due out in Q2 and should have most of the enhancements we have eagerly awaited.
Many of the present enhancements have pleased the binary crowd. I don't do binaries, so, like you, I personally haven't seen a great increase in speed. I do, however, find that the new sorting routines are quite handy. Forte is, as my grandmother used to say, "Slow as molasses running up hill in the wintertime," but somehow, their software is rock solid when it is finally released.
2.0 is very, very much like 1.93 2.1 should be the beginning of something really big 3.0 should be the Swiss Army Knife of newsreaders.