Here is my observation with regard to the hardware

the display:

-nice enough resolution allows for beautifully rendered graphics
-natural colors compared to the amoled 808 (see picture)
-pixels are peaceful to the eye, not aggressive like on the N9
-lowest brightness is really comfortable for night reading of text without ambient light.
-luckily the display is sunken in the shiny black plastick bezel, not sticking out, if you know what I mean (a design feature of the N9 and some Lumia's)

-the famous other half TOH is just a plastic cover, the logo of Jolla and "the first one" are not molded in the plastic but printed or a sticker, so better show it to the world before the Jolla gets too common and the text worn off.
Also the slight smell wears off quickly (in comparison to the plastics on a Pre3 for example that don't need a Made in China logo to remind you about their origin)
-TOH seems tough and flexible enough to endure a beating If you decide to give your phone a sliding drop, make sure it is on the other half side.

-if you put the phone on its head or bottom, TOH touches the surface

-if you put the phone straight on its side it is the metal frame that touches the surface. Clearing is about 0,5 to 1mm.

-on the corners TOH is not protecting the metal frame corners.

-the bezel is edged by what looks like anodised metal on 3 sides. That gives a nice cool metal quality touch to the otherwise plastic device. When you come inside from -40°C, allow it to warm up gently or you will create condensation around your device

-the bottom side of the bezel is plastic, starting at about 1cm down to the bottom. If you drop the phone head frontally down, I think the best bet for shock absorption is to have the bottom take the impact.
But somebody other than me needs to try this and report.

-there is some space between TOH and the metal half. Liquids from sweaty palms may find their way in and from the metal half deeper into the internals. I am not sure about this.
Once devices are being opened after a couple of months we will know more about the overal hygiene of the design.

-the USB port is tightly sunken in the metal frame but until somebody opens this we can't see how thick the ring of metal around it is. Waiting for the first one that has cracked this USB surrounding to know if it is possible Anyway, nice quality fitting. I don't see much play to rip the USB port from the motherboard.

-the buttons (volume and on/off ) somewhat embedded between other half and frame. This is a much better design than on the Samsung note where you constantly hold push the buttons.

Contrary to the Samsung devices the Jolla case seems "designed" while the Samsung devices give an impression of no design to save cost while impress with internal specs.

-Ergonomocs: well IMO they are not too great actually ... I love the rounded feeling of an N900 or 808, Pre 3. This square phone trend looks nice but is not too comfortable to hold and will undoubtedly later be classified amongst weird 1980's designs when new technologies arrives and telephones are no longer display centric.

-Camera + Flash — not to much presence, just two small dots on TOH are a lens and a LED.. my heart shrinks when I think about the camera. From the looks of the hardware it should be good enough for mobile paper scanning and it does a great job not forcing itself on the foreground of the overal design.

My overal conclusion is that it is a nice piece of hardware.

Here are some pictures to illustrate:

http://sdrv.ms/1fB1fNn