If you haven't already tried it, the TV Out feature of the N900 is potentially very useful and quite a neat party trick too. Despite its analogue signal, the output still looks reasonably good on a large screen. All About Maemo has done a short video aimed at beginners illustrating the basics, embedded below.

Nokia has released their Q4 2009 results, reporting an operating profit of EUR 1.141 billion, with net sales EUR 12 billion (down 5% YoY). Nokia's device and service division's profits were EUR 1.14 billion, up 130% year on year. Margins in devices and services were 14.9% (up 5.5% YoY and 3.5% QoQ). Converged devices sales (smartphone) were 20.8 million, compared with 15.1 million units in Q4 2008 and 16.4 million units in Q3 2009. As such, worldwide converged device ('smartphone') marketshare increased from 35% to 40% sequentially.

Coming on the eve of Apple's big tablet release and Nokia's Q4 09 results announcement, IDC gathered all their numbers, analysts and (ahem) runes and produced a forecast for the smartphone market in 2013. Unusually, for an American data analysis firm, there's surprising understanding of the worldwide scene, with the headline stat being that the smartphone market will exceed 390 million units per year by 2013, with Symbian holding on to its world marketshare lead over the next three years. Quotes from the IDC press release and my own predictions below.

A number of adverts, featuring the N900, have started to appear in the mainstream UK media and poster locations. The most prominent advert highlights to multi-tasking capabilities of the device and shows six applications running on the N900's dashboard. Such advertising is likely to reach a more mainstream audience and increase awareness of the N900. Read on for more.

Yesterday Nokia announced that Ovi Maps navigation was going free for all it smartphones. Initially this is available for Nokia's Symbian device models. However, Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President of Nokia, speaking at the London event said, "we will also be increasing support for this.. and certainly moving forward it will also support Maemo". However no commitment was made for specific Maemo models.

Proporta have been touting their Gadget Bag for a while now and I decided it was high time to give this accessory the ultimate test - give it to road warrior Ewan to fill/destroy. Here's his write-up, highlighting just how much stuff can be packed into the bag but also bemoaning the lack of internal loops and ties to stop your bits from rattling around. It's a positive review overall though and you can't argue with the price.

Software developer Joikusoft has announced, via their Facebook page, that 'JoikuSpot for Maemo OS' will be published soon. The software, which is already available for Nokia's Symbian devices, turns your N900 into a WiFi hotspot. Other devices, such as a laptops, connect to the N900 over WiFi, with the connection to the Internet provided the N900's cellular (3G) connection.

The N900's built in media player has a slightly eccentric way of handling playlists, but it is fairly easy once you get used to it. We've done a brief video to show you how it works, you can watch it embedded below.

Continuing the ping pong legal battle between Apple and Nokia over patents and IP, Apple have filed with the International Trade Commission asking for a US import ban on Nokia products... mirroring the complaint Nokia made to ITC about Apple. While escalating quickly, this progression of claim and counter-claim is to be expected as both companies legal departments engage in brinkmanship before negotiation.

A very short but useful hint which not everyone knows: you can access your contacts directly from the N900 desktop by just typing them on the keyboard. You don't even need to have the Contacts app open, it will open automatically at the correct section when you start typing. See the video embedded below for a demonstration.