Seems like they may have have rushed it to market then.
I, personally, am not going to bother since I already have a decision to make between my E4200 v1 paired with RE1000 range extender and my Amped Wireless R10000 long range router.
Otherwise I might have tried. Although it seems the V2's long range 2.4 GHz wireless performance was worse than the V1 on CNet (not sure whether the tests are controlled though).
PS CNet's review points out that long range performance of the V2, on both bands (2.4 and 5 Ghz) with 300 Mbps clients, is worse than the V1, although they seem to completely ignore this when rating it editor's choice (NAS performance is just about the best out there and a big improvement).
In fact, on 2.4 Ghz, even with a 450 Mbps client connecting to the V2, the long range wireless throughput of the V2 is less than the V1 throughput using a 300 Mbps client.
Additionally with a 300 Mbps client, the V2 is worse in
short range throughput too!
The 450 Mbps number on 5 Ghz are impressive for the V2, but they did not test the V1 with a 450 Mbps client.
I think I will stick with my E4200
V1 for now (or my Amped R1000 if I decide to keep that instead of my E4200 and RE1000 extender combo).
Perhaps a firmware upgrade for the V2 could help
(Anandtech actually says the new unit's amplifier and antenna are supposed to have been optimized for better, on paper at least, wireless performance).
QUOTE:
"There's [sic] also been some optimizations to the antenna and amplifier configuration that should improve range and reduce dead spots."
The CNet review seems to indicate otherwise, at least with respect to 2.4 Ghz (with either type of client, 300 or 450, neither of which could beat the 300 Mbps-only long range performance of the V1) and with respect to 5 Ghz V2 performance with 300 Mbps clients.
I would love to see what Tim's tests show (maybe they will contrast with CNet's).