The Nokia N9 is the first ever buttonless smartphone, and reinvents how we interact with our phones through its easy-to-use swipe-driven interface. Now Nokia has treated us to a closer look at this fantastic-looking handset, and spoken about the design process that brought it to life.

The Nokia N9: full tech specs, plus hands-on video

It's not too often that new products come along and far exceed your expectations, but the Nokia N9 is one of that rare breed. It's fantastic to look at, powerful, fast and agile, and offers a truly unique and innovative alternative to the smartphone status quo.

The heart of the Nokia N9's appeal is that it's intuitive and simply functional, with the swipe-led interface featuring clever touches like being able to swipe inwards from any edge of the screen to return instantly to the homescreen no matter what you're doing.

To make a success of that philosophy requires a clear design vision, where form works in tandem with function to create an end product that delivers as a whole. And there's no question that Nokia has achieved this with the Nokia N9.

Not only is it a superb example of innovative smartphone design in its own right, but it also gives us an insight into the design principles we can expect to see from future Nokia smartphones  – an exciting idea indeed!

It's no wonder that Nokia senior vice president of design Marko Ahtisaari is proud. “Every once in a while a product comes along that changes our perception of how we use technology, and how natural it can feel,” he says.

The Nokia design guru has plenty more to say too, and you can hear the whole story of the Nokia N9 design process – and see the magical simplicity of swipe in action – in the video clip below.