Hi, I just bought the personal license a couple of days ago. I have some experience with native programming and semi-native programming (as in Basic4Android). I must say the purchase of C2 feels really rewarding, especially compared to other similar software at x times the price or a monthly/yearly fee.
[A small digression: if Photoshop and the like cost this sort of money instead of the ridiculous $591247832, Adobe would make much bigger money]
As to the performance, it is just something you have to deal with for now. For example, I made a simple Fruit-Nija-esque game (not so many objects and effects, but quite a lot of dynamic movement). On my Nexus 7 the performance is ok but on my old Samsung Galaxy S1 it's totally unplayable (skipping frames etc.). Of course there are WAY more advanced games that run smoothly on the latter.
But, as others have pointed out, it will be getting better.
Then, I'm still not convinced about the whole underlying HTML5 thing but it comforts me when I read how enthusiastic people are about it here. Though I admit I *would* feel better with a native exporter.
All in all, I try to look at it this way: if I was to make apps using native programming it would require a massive time investment which I can't afford. With C2 I can JUST do whatever I want and concentrate on the creative process without keeping reinventing the wheel - and I really, really love it. Plus I'm allowed to make money with it. So, if the price I have to pay for it is HTML5 and a drop in performance that will be reduced over time then I think this price is a REAL steal.
Cheers <img src="smileys/smiley1.gif" border="0" align="middle" />