Sick of Android? Check out the Sailfish OS-powered Jolla phone (pictures)

The Jolla phone is a 4.5-inch smartphone running Sailfish OS, an offshoot of Meego, that supports Android apps. Preorders are being shipped now across Europe for 399 euros (US$540), although wider availability has yet to be confirmed.

Its plastic back panel has a stark, minimalist design.

It looks rather like two different phones squashed together. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- I quite like the unusual design.

The different coloured back panels have NFC chips in them that automatically change themes and settings on your phone.

It's not the slimmest phone in history, but it's easy to hold. The only buttons you'll find are the volume and power buttons on the side.

There's a 3.5mm headphone jack and Micro-USB port on the top.

An 8-megapixel camera with a flash resides on the back.

The only break in the glass front is for the speaker.

The speakers for your music are on the bottom, so it won't muffle the sound if you lie it flat on a desk.

There are a bunch of available colours, but I found this bright, lime-green affair to look particularly striking.

A little touch, but it's small details like this that help the phone look pretty good.

Clip off the back cover to get access to the micro-SIM card and battery.

You'll also find a microSD card slot for upgrading the 16GB of built-in storage.

Double-tap the screen in standby mode and you'll be met with this notification panel.

Swipe down and you'll see a multitasking panel, showing up to nine of your recent apps.

The Google Play app store isn't supported, but other third-party app stores allow you to download Android apps nonetheless.

You can't get everything you'll find on Google Play, but there's a lot to choose from.

You can swap the case if you fancy a change of colour or simply if your old one starts to look a bit knackered.

The Android YouTube app is supported and works well.

Spotify is supported, too -- a critical addition for me.

The interface makes use of minimalist, modern fonts, which look cool.

You can easily select which theme works with each case.

How about some shocking pink?

A swipe up from below brings up the notifications panel.

When you first start up the phone, you'll be given a handy tutorial on what gestures are needed.

You'll need to remember what swipe does what, unless you fancy carrying a user guide with you.

I found the gestures relatively easy to get used to, although there were a couple of times I preferred Android's way of doing things.

Time will tell if a gesture-based interface proves easier to use than fixed navigation keys.