I frankly don't see what you are getting it. I believe the N900 is the only other major smartphone without front facing buttons, but the N9 makes it a lot more powerful with the swipe gesture (as the N900 basically just forces applications to provide the button themselves, and you get stuck if they don't). Not having this button is cool, because it means more screen in the usable area of the phone. Of course you could cramp buttons in the small area below the screen, but that's not ergonomic in the least. I believe that the swipe beats all current solutions in terms of ergonomics. I said it could go on, not "on and on". There are things I don't know or can't think of which the N9 does better, and then there are smaller innovative details which you will learn to appreciate if you use the phone for a while (e.g. how to unlock the phone). You know the back-story of the N9, it was meant to be Nokia's primary smartphone contender. You will have to forget about the N900 to truly appreciate it. If it's not for you, then I'm sorry about that and you will have to move on. But I believe that most people will find the N9 a very enjoyable phone to use, and this time this includes all the demographics.