Ok. I have installed it. It, indeed, is an improved version. The speed dials page has a "Manage" option now. Basically it lets you delete a speed dial, or rearrange the dials through drag and drop. I also felt that the overall experience has become smoother. The browser is as fast as ever. Text selection gives one more contextual option of "Search with..", providing various search engines to search through. I am not sure, though, if this is a new feature or an old one that I have never noticed.
Swipe downwards on the keyboard, it will close. Its default functionality throughout the OS.