Nikon D3000, D300s images materialize

What's this? An as of yet unannounced Nikon D3000 camera has allegedly popped up in press photo format, flaunting itself as what appears to be a slimmed down entry level DSLR. The gang LensTip have analyzed the pic pretty thoroughly against the D5000 and have concluded it's got a smaller body, no HDMI connector, no microphone (so much for a movie mode), and likely no articulating display. Additionally, we've got from Nikon Rumors what's purported to be our first glimpse at the D300s body. Given the angle of the shot, the only difference we can spot is the inclusion of a microphone -- then again, it could just be some subtle image manipulation trickery from a rabid fan. See it and decide for yourself after the break.

Transformers' tops $200 million

Paramount's action sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" capped its dramatic debut with a vengeance, ringing up $112 million in estimated weekend boxoffice for a competition-crunching domestic cume of $201.2 million since storming theaters Wednesday.

Matched against the first five days of all previous film releases, the "Transformers" tally falls below only that of last summer's "The Dark Knight," which debuted with $203.8 million during a Friday-to-Tuesday span. With another $181.6 million coming from overseas, the global gross for the second "Transformers" now stands at $363.2 million.

Produced by Paramount, DreamWorks and Hasbro, "Transformers" hauled in at least $25 million more through Sunday than most had anticipated.Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added $185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $387 million. That's well over half the $708 million global total for the first "Transformers."

That first movie began with a $70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, "Revenge of the Fallen" could join the handful of movies that have topped the $400 million mark domestically.

"I'd say given the momentum it has, it's got a real shot," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.

For the first five days, the "Transformers" sequel was second only to last summer's "The Dark Knight" with $203.8 million.

This was the biggest opening weekend of this year, surpassing the $85.1 million debut of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in early May.

Mosley on warpath, FOTA breakaway back on menu

Far from peace in our time, furious Max Mosley on Friday suggested FOTA's plans for a breakaway series may be back on.On Wednesday in Paris, FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo sat with the FIA president as well as Bernie Ecclestone as they announced an agreement had been reached to move on after weeks and months of bitter feuding.But Mosley interpreted the subsequent media coverage of the agreement as manipulated by Montezemolo and the eight rebel teams, keen to portray the deal as a successful coup that had resulted in victory as well as his head.

The 69-year-old wrote a letter to Ferrari's Montezemolo demanding a retraction and apology, but on Thursday the Italian instead issued a backhanded compliment by thanking Mosley "for his decision to leave the FIA in October".Mosley, now openly rethinking his retirement, is reportedly also furious at FOTA vice-chairman John Howett's appeal to the World Motor Sport Council that it elect an "independent" president to succeed the incumbent.He has now written another letter to the FIA member clubs, in which Mosley alludes to Howett's comments that "concern me greatly" and to Montezemolo who "did not keep his part of the bargain".

"We must continue to defend the independence of the FIA, even if this leads to difficulties in the sport," Mosley wrote.He said the aftermath of the agreement had become "intolerable" and warns that, despite this week's declaration of peace, formula one now faces another "difficult period".

"This may well result in short-term problems in formula one," added Mosley. "It is possible FOTA will set up an independent series. The championship has had difficult times in the past, and no doubt will again in the future."

He accuses FOTA as being a body with "no sporting ethics" and "under the control" of the car manufacturing industry "we have constantly to monitor".Even more provocatively, Mosley revealed that one manufacturer team lobbied him to ignore the processes of the Court of Appeal and simply declare 'double diffusers' illegal earlier this year.He also said that when the FIA championed the road car safety standards system Euro NCAP, "one of the major manufacturers threatened to quit formula one" in protest.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Shatters Wednesday Box Office Record with $60.6 Million

A blockbuster sequel only needed one day to enter the record books this week. According to Variety, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen broke the single-day Wednesday box office record with $60.6 million.

The Wednesday haul destroyed the previous record of $44.2 million, which was set in 2007 with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The film is playing in more than 4,200 theaters and $16 million of the film's first-day take were from midnight screenings.

Box office analysts predict that the sequel's five-day haul to be somewhere between $150 and $170 million.

HTC Hero details begin leaking from HTC's own website

As we prepare for HTC's official launch event today, we're starting to see some details appear on HTC's own website of the much rumored Hero. Through some URL trickery, we've managed to unearth several details that confirm the previous rumors. Hero includes the new HTC Sense widget-based interface that puts at-a-glance info right up front on the home screen where it belongs. A new Scenes profile feature lets you transform your phones focus from business to weekend mode. Viewing your contacts shows the usual data in addition to the interactions you've had through social networking status updates and photos from the likes of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. A dedicated search button searches the phone as well as services like Twitter. In fact, like Palm's Pre, the HTC Hero seems ready to fully integrate your local data with all your subscribed social media sites. The big unveiling is just about an hour away, until then, have a poke around HTC's Hero site yourself by hitting the read link below.

Update: First images are out! More after the break. Inside you'll find Qualcomm's MSM7200A proc running Android at 528MHz, 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM, 3.2-inch TFT-LCD with 320 x 480 pixel rez, 900/2100MHz HSPA and Quad-band GSM, trackball, GPS, 802.11b/g WiFi, 3.5mm audio jack, G-sensor, compass, and 5 megapixel auto-focus cam with microSD expansion. It's all there baby.

Update 2: A bit more detail just rolled in. The White version has an industry-first Teflon coating (right, just like your pans) to keep things clean and grime free. Hero arrives in Europe in July, Asia later in the summer, and North America even later in 2009.

Toshiba Chief Hints At Launching Blu-Ray Disc Ops

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Toshiba Corp. President Atsutoshi Nishida did not rule out the possibility of selling DVD recorders using the Blu-ray Disc format when addressing shareholders at the firm's general meeting here Wednesday.

"It makes no sense to decide not to enter the Blu-Ray market simply because we lost the DVD-format war. We cannot change the fact that we lost, but we would like to keep our options open," he said.

Toshiba pushed for global adoption of its HD-DVD format, but failed to gain sufficient support from major U.S. movie studios. This prompted the firm to pull out of its HD-DVD operations in spring 2008, declaring at that time that it would not handle Blu-ray products.

But Nishida's latest remark appears to indicate that Toshiba is considering reversing that decision in light of the significant growth in the market for these products.

Daimler in Talks to Buy Stake in Porsche, VW

Daimler is reportedly negotiating to purchase either a percentage of Porsche, or Volkswagen, from Porsche Automobil Holding SE, according to German website manager-magazin.de. The news outlet says Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche and Porsche chief Wendelin Wiedeking have been in talks since last May.

After Porsche purchased 51% of VW's common shares, they attempted a complete takeover of Europe's largest automaker. Porsche has about €9 billion in debt tied to the deal, leading to a limited supply of liquid cash needed to keep operations running.

Official: FOTA Announce Breakaway Series for 2010

In the dead of Thursday night in England, the eight FOTA teams decided to issue a statement announcing that a breakaway world championship will be formed.

The announcement came on the eve of the FIA's Friday deadline for making unconditional entries for the official formula one series, and amid the sides' deadlocked negotiations about income, governance and rules.

"The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA," the statement read. "The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored.

"Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006."

The statement was issued on behalf of BMW, Brawn, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota and the two Red Bull teams.

"These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners," said the formula one teams association.

Toshiba's TG01 running Snapdragon launched as T-01A in Japan

One of the hottest pieces of gear this year just made its way to retail in Japan. Less than a centimeter thick, the NTT DoCoMo T-01A is the same TG01 device revealed by Toshiba back in February running Qualcomm's ultra-fast 1GHz Snapdragon chipset. As such, our far east brethren can lay claim to that 4.1-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) resistive touchscreen display; HSDPA, GPS, and WiFi radios; and Toshiba's custom-built UI meant to mask its Windows Mobile 6.1 core with a bit of Rothko misdirection. And now that Toshiba's home country of Japan is all set, we hope to see the TG01 make its launch debute in Europe and beyond.

Man Utd announce Tevez departure

Manchester United have confirmed that Carlos Tevez is leaving the club.

United were willing to pay the £25.5m to turn the striker's two-year loan move into a permanent five-year deal but Tevez has decided to move on.

"Disappointingly, his advisors informed the club that he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United," read a United statement.

"The club thanks Carlos for his services over the last two seasons and wishes him good luck for the future."

Tevez became a fans favourite duruing his time at the Old Trafford club and helped the side win the last two Premier League titles as well as the 2008 Champions League trophy.

But he has joined Cristiano Ronaldo in exiting the club, with his final appearance being as a substitute in United's loss to Barcelona in the 209 Champions League final.

New Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen pic

Verizon launches BlackBerry Tour teaser page

Like weeds: new Natal Xbox rumor shot down, 3D Xbox rumor pops up to take its place

Rumor mongers seem hell bent on Microsoft building a brand new Xbox, despite what we assumed was wonderful news that current Xbox owners wouldn't have to shell out for new hardware to handle Project Natal. Well, Microsoft has already hit back against 1UP's rumor of a new Xbox coming in Fall 2010, calling the report "nonsense." Others have pointed out that the camera hardware actually does almost all of its own processing, so a slight hardware bump to the 360 would be kind of pointless -- though most seem to agree that Microsoft will package Natal with the 360 in a new SKU akin to the Arcade or Elite.

Meanwhile, TeamXbox, the ones who seemed to think the Zune HD was a portable game console of sorts, have a new rumor in the works: the next Xbox 360 won't be out in 2010 because Microsoft is going to wait for 3D-capable TVs to become more commonplace and launch a stereoscopic 3D console at that time. It sounds enticing, but given the fact that the Wii has succeeded directly in the face of its next-gen television empowering PS3 and Xbox 360 competition, we can't say it's the most likely of ideas -- if anything, Microsoft will need to have some solid backwards compatibility for us 2D "Take On Me" types.

Its Tour Time!!!! 2009 Tour de France

Who's the favourite?

Alberto Contador

Cadel Evans


Dennis Menchov
Carlos Sastre
Levi Leipheimer
Lance Amstrong

Ken Okuyama opens design studio in Irvine, Cal.

Ken Okuyama Design Co. Ltd has opened its new Design Center in Irvine, California, in the same facility previously owned by Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design. It will serve as a creative center and for the development of small production vehicles.

Ronaldo: It’s historic deal

CRISTIANO RONALDO last night branded his world-record £80million move to Real Madrid "historic".

But while the 24-year-old celebrated in Los Angeles, he was also exposed as a two-faced winker by the man who masterminded the deal.Ronaldo said: "I have had my time at Man United. It's time to look forward and £80m is quite a sum of money. This deal is historic."However former Real president Ramon Calderon insisted Ronaldo agreed to go more than SIX MONTHS ago.The revelation makes a sham of the Portugal winger's repeated claims that he was going to stay at United.

Calderon said: "It was easy. We agreed everything and he decided to come."He also claims United knew all about the deception and added: "Let's say it was a gentleman's agreement."Let's say that everyone involved in the operation agreed to do it this season. That is what I can say. It has happened now, it was a bit early last season."Ronaldo got the news that his transfer to Real had been confirmed after being out clubbing all night in Los Angeles where he is on holiday.

Toshiba ships REGZA ZV650 and SV670 HDTVs

If you're not down with waiting for Toshiba's internet-connected range of HDTVs -- which, by the way, should be out before the dawn of 2010 -- here's a bit of excellent news: the REGZA ZV650 and SV670 series are now shipping. Both of the sets were initially announced way back at CES, and the latter of the two is Tosh's first-ever LED-backlit HDTV. Said set also packs local dimming, ClearScan 240 dejudder technology, PixelPure 5G 14-bit video processing and that questionably useful Resolution+ system. There's also a USB socket, four HDMI connectors, IR pass-through, a PC input and REGZA-LINK (HDMI-CEC). As for the other guys (yeah, there's more), head on past the break and take notes on the ones relevant to your interests.

New Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Sneak Peek on DVD

In anticipation of the eagerly-awaited June 24 theatrical premiere of DreamWorks Pictures' and Paramount Pictures' action-packed Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Paramount Home Entertainment will offer consumers who purchase Transformers on Blu-ray or DVD access to an exclusive sneak peek at the highly-anticipated sequel featuring Sam (Shia LaBeouf) and Mikaela (Megan Fox) as they desperately attempt to escape the Decepticons. Beginning on June 16, 2009, fans who purchase a new Transformers DVD or Blu-ray disc at retail nationwide can augment their experience with access to compelling bonus content. Made available on a secure micro-site through an access code from the back of the Exclusive Sneak Peek sticker on the DVD package or via BD-Live, the footage includes two additional sneak peeks at the new film and over 25 minutes of bonus materials from the original film including never-before-seen deleted scenes, Megan Fox's audition tapes and more.

The $700+ million smash hit Transformers exploded onto screens from the creative minds of director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg and went on to become the top-selling DVD of 2007, as well as one of the best-selling Blu-ray discs to date.

Transformers Bonus Content

The bonus materials that will be available via BD-Live and on the micro-site on June 16 include the following:

- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Sneak Peek - Footage from the new film
- From the set of Revenge of the Fallen: Day 1 - An exclusive inside look at the first day of shooting
- From the set of Revenge of the Fallen: A Day in the Shade -A comical look at the differences between Megan and Shia's on-set treatment
- Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes from Transformers
- Fly on the Set: Pentagon - On the set filming of the Pentagon Military Command Center
- Music and Mayhem - Renowned special effects house ILM deconstructs the blockbuster action of Transformers
- Metal in Motion - Special effects tests and early robot animation
- Stunts 101 - An in-depth look at the amazing stunts in Transformers
- Choose Your Weapon -A fly on the wall glimpse into the selection of weapons and how they were used by the film's soldiers
- The Man in the Ice - From design to production, watch the Arctic come to life on various sets in Los Angeles, California
- Voices - The voices behind the Autobots and Decepticons
- Audition Tapes: Megan Fox - Megan's original Transformers audition

iPhone 3G S announced: $199 16GB, $299 32GB, June 19th

As endlessly predicted, Apple's unveiled a new iPhone today at WWDC, the iPhone 3G S -- the "s" stands for speed. Although it looks almost exactly like the 3G, it's much, much faster -- some tasks are almost four times faster. Data speeds are upped to 7.2Mbps HSDPA, and the camera is now a 3 megapixel unit with tap-to-autofocus and auto white balance -- and just as expected, it now supports 30fps VGA video recording with editing features. You're also getting a built-in compass, Nike+ support, and a new battery that offers 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi internet use. There are some surprises, too -- holding down the home button now enables a new voice control interface that lets you do everything from make calls to control iTunes, and Apple's touting a new "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating." New and end-of-contract pricing is set at $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB when it goes on sale June 18th Stateside and in 80 more countries in August -- and the current 8GB 3G will remain on sale for $99, effective immediately. You'll have to pay a bit more if you're mid-contract, though -- $299 for the 3G and $399/$499 for the 3G S.

2011 Volvo C70 facelift spotted during photoshoot

The trouble that an automaker with a distinctive yet conservative design heritage such as Volvo always has, in terms of stylistic challenges, are the two burning questions: Where to go next and how far to take a new design for a facelift or next-generation iteration of a model.

Here are a couple of spy shots of the facelifted Volvo C70 coupe/convertible taken in Barcelona, Spain by an intrepid Volvo4life.es forum poster and you can judge for yourself whether Volvo is on track here. Design cues from the recent S60 Concept are clearly evident. And one can argue that Volvo has given this coupe/convertible a little extra character, with more rounded lines around the new face and a more gaping mouth (wider grille), while still maintaining a design consistency.

That altered face also comes by way of a new bumper and headlights which have a more pronounced look over the current generation. And at the back, are a new set of taillights, new rear bumper and a larger font Volvo name spelled out on the trunk door. A series of changes enough for, if not worthy of, a new facelift release.

The new facelifted Volvo C70 coupe/convertible will likely make its debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September. It is slated for launch sometime in 2010.

Forza Motorsport 3 Fact Sheet

Game details and official press release.

Microsoft Game Studios, 6.1.2009

Title: “Forza Motorsport 3”

Availability: October 2009
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Turn 10 Studios
Format: DVD for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system; Xbox LIVE-enabled
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Pricing: $59.99 U.S. (ERP), $79.99 U.S. for Limited Collector’s Edition

Product Overview: Whether it’s an exotic sports car like the new Audi R8 V10, a classic American muscle car like the Ford GT or a hot Asian import like the Nissan 370Z, everyone has a dream car. Now you can drive that dream with Turn 10’s latest racing epic. Launching this October exclusively for Xbox 360, “Forza Motorsport 3” unites the racing game genre making it possible for everyone to experience the thrill of the world’s most exotic and exquisite cars. Live the most realistic racing experience ever as you take the wheel of more than 400 of the most-beloved cars on over 100 renowned real-world tracks and exotic road courses from around the globe. With breathtaking HD graphics and the most advanced vehicle performance modeling in a video game, “Forza Motorsport 3” includes a host of driving assists and adjustable skill levels to make the game a gripping pick-up-and-play experience for audiences of all ages and skill levels.

Your escape into the world of car culture in “Forza Motorsport 3” doesn’t stop at the track. Turn 10 is a proven leader in user-generated content creation in games. “Forza Motorsport 3” further fuels the imaginations of its already thriving community of painters, tuners and photographers with improved customization tools and brand new ways to share creations with the world via Xbox LIVE*. Xbox LIVE makes your journey into the “Forza Motorsport” community and the world of user-generated content easy and fun.

A love of cars lives in all of us. “Forza Motorsport 3” is the automotive playground we’ve all been waiting for.

Microsoft E3 2009 Press Conference Impresses With A Strong Show

For those who watched Microsoft’s E3 press conference earlier this morning, it’s understandable if you’re still in a bit of a daze. With all the hard-hitting features, tech demos, and world premieres of highly anticipated games, you’d be forgiven for being in a bit of stupor after such a bombardment. Microsoft certainly outdid itself this year, ditching the boring, typical marketing drivel that often bogs down the show for a more gamer-friendly conference.

As John Schappert put it, “We’re going to be showing, not telling.”, and show Microsoft did. We finally saw footage of several key games, including Splinter Cell: Conviction, Alan Wake, Halo 3: ODST, Forza 3, and Modern Warfare 2. Of all the games shown, Alan Wake was arguably the most impressive all-around, offering up a healthy dose of story reveals as well as some great live gameplay footage that showcased some of the innovative ways Remedy is working on the action genre. Conviction looked fantastic, finally bringing into the light the new Sam Fisher that everyone was anxious to see after the poor reception of the initial concept. ODST, Forza 3, and Modern Warfare 2 showcased just about exactly what you would want or expect, revealing gameplay footage that was designed specifically to appeal to fans of each game.

While some of the games were a little disappointing, such as Epic/Chair’s upcoming XBLA title, Shadow Complex as well as Joy Ride, it’s worth noting that although their E3 showings were lackluster, the games showed promise.

On the features side of things, it only gets better. Much better. Microsoft came into E3 saying they were going to reinvent home entertainment, and after this conference, I can only say that they might have undershot their previous statement. All the new features coming to Xbox Live are substantial and look to be natural extensions of the system’s social networking mantra. Facebook and Twitter were both announced to hit the dashboard later this fall, and Last.fm will even be making a new home in a slot on your Xbox 360.

Netflix will also be getting a few key upgrades, allowing users to queue up content right from their 360 rather than only their PC. In addition, the Xbox LIVE Party functionality gets a large upgrade, allowing friends to watch movies (Netflix or the new, Instant-On full HD movies) together on a kind of virtual couch. The features presented in each showing were substantial and sleek, and integrated the NXE’s trademark look into each presentation. The level of integration was something that thoroughly impressed me, considering that other companies struggle with adding such robust features to existing hardware without clouting the effectiveness and/or universal look of their device.

While it remains to be seen just how effective and fleshed out these features will turn out to be, their mere induction into the ever-increasing array of networking features on Xbox 360 shows that Microsoft was very serious in saying that it intended to revolutionize the way we look at entertainment.

Nothing, however, mentioned previously even begins to touch on the impressive new Project Natal (nuh-tall). Natal is likely the biggest breakthrough in gaming peripherals and technology the industry has seen in quite awhile. At first glance, Natal appears to be an improved Xbox Live Vision camera, but upon further inspection (and a healthy amount of official demos), Natal is really a new way to experience interactive media. Using full body motion capture, Natal enables players to do nearly infinite tasks by using gestures or moving their body.

Want to navigate the Dashboard on your 360 without a controller? Simply move your hands left or right in a sliding motion and Natal does the rest. The possibilities here are nearly endless, not least of which was proven by the absolutely astounding Milo, a new game (if you can call it that - more like a proof of concept) from Lionhead Studios which utilizes breakthrough AI procedures and Natal to create an incredible new way to interact with on-screen characters. Milo is the name of an artificial boy who reacts to things you do in real-time and real life with stunning realism and dynamics. While it’s unclear at this point how exactly Milo works, the tech demo presented at E3 provided knowledge that both voice recognition as well as motion recognition are used in incredible new ways. For example, Milo is a character you can actually have a conversation with, reacting with lifelike emotions and snappy dialogue. He’ll ask you questions and remember things you tell him, and soon enough, you’re interacting with one of the most realistic AIs ever created. Creepy? A little. Cool? If it plays out, definitely.

Overall, Microsoft delivered a hell of a conference this year at E3, and it’s going to be interesting to see whether or not the remaining companies can top what has become a historical performance on Microsoft’s part.