FInally...a win from the Schuderia Ferrari!!

Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian grand prix, Giancarlo Fisichella's second place is worth "squillions" to Force India, but the big winner at Spa-Francorchamps was Sebastian Vettel.

The German driver finished third, while his fellow championship rivals struggled.

Jenson Button crashed on the first lap, but his Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello closed the title battle to within 16 points, with Vettel leapfrogging his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to take third place in the drivers' standings.

The big headline however is the astonishing Belgian form of Force India's Fisichella, who started from pole but was overtaken down the long Kemmel straight by the KERS-assisted Raikkonen's Ferrari.

But the Roman, whose eight points are worth "squillions" to his Silverstone-based team according to business director Ian Phillips, hung onto his Finnish rival throughout the 44 laps, and the gap at the end was less than a single second.

"I'm a little bit sad because I was quicker than Kimi but he overtook me just because of the KERS. Actually, we could have won the race," Fisichella told reporters afterwards.

What to expect from Canon EOS 7D:

• Approximately 18 Megapixel, APS-C CMOS Sensor (1.6x crop factor)
• Dual Digic 4 with 14-bit Image Processing
• Approximately 8fps (94 JPEG fine/15 RAW) burst buffer
• All-new eight-directional double cross central AF point, total 19 cross AF points
• ISO 100-6400 (Extendable to ISO 12800)
• All-new 100% 1.0X magnification Viewfinder with three-dimensional electronic level display (yes!!!)
• All-new iFCL intelligent metering system (calculates highlight & color)
• 3.0″, 920K dots, 160 degrees of viewing angle with anti-glare High Resolution LCD display type II
• Full HD capability, external stereo mic input & HDMI output
• Live View with Face Priority AF
• New Video/Live View button switch
• Aero Dynamic Body Design, metal characteristic shutter sound up to 150.000 cycle
• All-new 24mm built-in flash with EOS Intelligent Speedlite System
  
• Highlight Priority Mode
• Lens Vignette Control
• More Picture Style
• EOS Integrated Dust Reduction System

Sony debuts Alpha A850, A550 and A500 DSLRs

Sony's really hitting two sweet spots this morning with its new (or, newly confirmed) full-frame A850 (pictured) and mid-range A550 and A500 DSLR additions to the Alpha family. The rumors were basicallydead on, with the A850 offering a slight reduction to the A900's skillset while keeping on the exact same 24.6 megapixel sensor -- and nabbing a $1,000 or so price cut in the process (it's now landing at around $2,000). The A550 and A500, meanwhile, fill in any perceived gaps in the Alpha line with 14.2 and 12.3 megapixel sensors, respectively. They also both score tilt-out LCDs akin to the poorly-received A380, with the A550 sporting a much higher resolution screen than its sibling. Still, even with the other minor tweaks present, we're not sure how reasonable the $200 price difference between the two cameras is: the A550 goes for $950 ($1050 with a kit lens), while the A500 hits at $750 ($850 with a kit). The glaring omission in all of these cameras, of course, is video recording -- something that Sony's various competition is sporting in a majority of these pricepoints

Purported Canon EOS 7D poster, lenses turn up online

Well, it's nearly become an annual event at this point, but it looks like those patiently waiting for a Canon EOS 7D now have a bit more fodder to consider, with a purported new poster and some new lenses for the camera recently turning up online. As you can see above, however, that poster reveals only a few details and an even less complete look at the camera itself, which was most recently spotted in pieces. The rumored new lenses, on the other hand, are making themselves seen considerably more clearly and, if the pics (after the break) are to believed, include an EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens and a longer EF-S 18-135m f/3.5-5.6 IS.

Sony Alpha 850 full-frame DSLR given the hands-on treatment

Sony debuted three fairly high-end cameras earlier today, but there's no question that the full-frame, 24.6-megapixel Alpha 850 is the flagship of the lot, and sure to garner the most attention (if not necessarily the most purchases). Thankfully, the folks at Pocket-lint have managed to get their hands on the DSLR, and have naturally provided plenty of pics showing it off from every angle (paired with Sony's 50mm F2.8 Macro lens). Hit up the read link for the complete slide show, and a bit more time to contemplate the $2,000 price tag it'll be sporting come September.

Nokia introduces Booklet 3G 'mini laptop'

Nokia rocked the world this morning by introducing its spin on the laptop, called the Booklet 3G. If you're the rude sort (like us) you could call it a fancy netbook, what with its Atom processor and 10.1-inch display, but that screen is higher res than your average Eee, and it also sports integrated 3G wireless and a hot-swappable SIM card, so it's definitely trying to define its own niche. It looks to be running Windows 7, which isn't particularly netbooky, and also has integrated A-GPS with a copy of Ovi Maps, HDMI output, a rated 12 hour battery life, and the usual Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, all in a 2cm (.78 inch), 2.7lb aluminum body that's understated, sophisticated, and should make most Nokia fans very happy -- Nokia fans who are looking for a tiny laptop, anyway. There's a fancy promotional video after the break, and while we don't have any anticipated release date or price just yet, we'll be learning more at Nokia World 09 on September 2.

More Sony Alpha 500, 850 info

We've already seen plenty of leaked info on Sony's upcoming Alpha DSLR -- the 850 (including what is presumably its user manual). Well, now the German site DigitalKamera's got some more info on it, as well as the a500. First up, the a850 will boast a 24.6 megapixel sensor, a 35mm CMOS sensor, an ISO range of 100 to 6400, and will be capable of shooting 3 frames per second, with a 3-inch, VGA display. The a500 -- about which a lot less info has been previously leaked -- will have a 12.3-megapixel sensor, an up 12800 ISO, with two live view modes (quick autofocus and direct view). There is still absolutely no official word on either of these bad boys, though we're hearing September -- so maybe we'll catch a glimpse of them at IFA -- we'll keep our eyes peeled until then. There's a shot of the a500 after the break.

Image leak shows possible Canon EOS-7D top shell

An image has surfaced that allegedly shows the top shell of an unannounced Canon camera, potentially the EOS-7D, according to a forum post on Digital Photography Review. The component closely resembles the top of Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, although the button arrangement and left-side dial are both slightly different. A separate leak recently showed a zoomed image of the EOS 7D badge, although the entire camera was not presented. Rumored specs suggest the 7D would be a lower-end version of the 5D Mark II, with a 12.1-megapixel full-frame sensor and 3-inch OLED display. The camera is said to be capable of shooting up to 3.9 frames per second, while video recording supports up to 1080p.

A Canon representative is rumored to have slipped a release date of September 1st, along with a price of $2,700 for the body or $2,900 with a 28-135mm EF lens.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DVD and Blu-ray October 20th

Paramount Home Video announced today that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is set to hit both DVD and Blu-ray on October 20th. Michael bay's hugely successful sequel will arrive on the home market loaded down with special features. Here is the official press release:

With more action and more thrills, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen captivated audiences to earn over $820 million at the box office and become the #1 movie of the year in North America and throughout the world. The latest spectacular adventure in the wildly popular Transformers

From director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg, in association with Hasbro, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen delivers non-stop action and fun in an all-new adventure that the whole family can enjoy. Featuring out-of-this-world heroes in the form of the mighty AUTOBOTS and a malevolent and powerful villain known as THE FALLEN, the film boasts some of the most sensational--and complex--visual effects in film history set against the backdrop of spectacular locations around the world. In addition to audience favorites OPTIMUS PRIME and BUMBLEBEE, the film's human stars have returned to help save the world including Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro.

The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen two-disc Blu-ray and DVD feature over three hours of in-depth, immersive special features that let viewers further explore the world of the legendary ROBOTS IN DISGUISE. Among the engrossing content is a multi-chapter documentary, including interviews with the cast and crew, that chronicles the entire making of the film from development and design to filming in locations around the globe, working with the U.S. military, creating the groundbreaking visual effects and putting it all together to produce the biggest film of the year. The discs also include an all-access featurette following renowned director Michael Bay through an entire day, a comprehensive exploration of the "confidential files" on a dozen of the TRANSFORMERS characters featured in the film, multi-angle breakdowns of some of the most sensational action sequences and much, much more.

The Blu-ray and two-disc DVD packages also will feature augmented reality technology that will allow owners to interact with a holographic image of OPTIMUS PRIME utilizing their webcams and a special website. Fans will be asked to piece together the Matrix of Leadership to bring OPTIMUS PRIME back to life, help repair his armor and calibrate his weapons by actually controlling his aim during target practice.

As an added bonus, the Blu-ray will include an exclusive interactive feature that gives viewers the ability to customize their own robot characters and get a glimpse at a rogue robot. Out of all the available permutations, one will unlock an exclusive interview with Michael Bay about his plans for the next adventure.

Two-Disc Special Edition DVD & Blu-ray:

The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen two-disc Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. The Blu-ray will be presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. The disc breakdown is as follows: franchise will make its highly-anticipated DVD and Blu-ray debut on October 20, 2009 in immersive, two-disc Special Editions, as well as on a single disc DVD, from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with Hasbro; distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment. The eagerly awaited home entertainment premiere will be accompanied by one of the division's biggest marketing campaigns ever, generating awareness and excitement of galactic proportions.

Hyundai-Kia passes Ford as world's 4th largest automaker

A decade ago no one, certainly not anyone outside of Hyundai, would have dreamt that the South Korean car manufacturer would one day sell more vehicles than Ford. Well it has happened. Hyundai-Kia is now the fourth largest automaker in the world in sales after Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen respectively.

This is a one-step-up-shift from the company's fifth position in 2008. The numbers come from the Automotive News Data Centre which states that during the first half of 2009 Hyundai-Kia sold 2,153,000 vehicles compared to Ford's 2,145,000. It is a rise of about 30% over the US brand. Hyundai-Kia's biggest single market is the US. The top ten companies have all lost sales so far this year, most by two-digit percentages. Volkswagen was the only one to lose by single digits as it shed 5.1% sales over H1 2008. The biggest losers were Ford and Toyota both of which saw sales decline 30.6% and 26% respectively.

Interestingly the Nissan and Renault alliance reported its numbers separately but had it combined them in the same way as Hyundai and Kia a total of over 2.6 million would appear. Such a figure would be enough to place Nissan-Renault in fourth position.

Canon Hybrid Stabilization Technology Corrects Bad Photography On More Axes

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Canon will include a new Hybrid Image Stabilizer in a forthcoming mystery (!) lens, which corrects both rotational and shift movement.

I've always been partial to the elegant in-body, floating-sensor stabilization systems like those in the Sony Alpha line, but this tech, like all of Canon's IS, will be in-lens, and therefore based, at least a little, on magic. Twist 'n shift correction sounds great on paper, but without any sense of how it works or, you know, having tried it, it's hard to know how well it'll work. What we know for now: the lens is due before the end of the year.

Canon EOS 7D image appears online

Canon might have announced a slew of new compacts today, but we're thinking the most exciting news might be this image of the legendary EOS 7D. That flash button would indicate the presence of a built-in flash, and those mic holes hint at video features, but apart from that we've got little else to go on -- there are whispers that the Best Buy inventory system is listing the body at $2700 and the kit with an EF 28-135 lens at $2900, but we can't verify those at the moment.

PS3 Slim Officially Announced

Hardly a surprise, but Sony got on stage today at GamesCom and confirmed what we've all known deep down in our hearts: the new, slimmer PS3 is really real. It'll be out in the first week of September (September 1 in North America and Europe, September 3 for Japan), and will retail for $300 (or 300 Euro, or 29,980 Yen). It's smaller and lighter, has a 120GB HDD, and packs "all the same features" of the regular PS3 while consuming 34 percent less power and taking up 32 percent less space. Existing PS3 SKUs have their prices dropped a hundie apiece
tomorrow in anticipation, so be sure to grab a space heater while you've still got a shot -- though we're not sure why you'd pay $300 for an 80GB PS3 when you can wait a couple weeks and get 120GB in a cuter package. A couple pics of the unveil are after the break.

The new 3.0 firmware will be released concurrently with the PS3 slim, which should provide a breath of fresh air for existing machines. Other new features of the PS3 slim include BRAVIA Sync, which allows you to control the PS3 XMB over HDMI through your BRAVIA TV remote, and System Standby to shut off the PS3 when the BRAVIA TV is off. Sony also claims this new machine will run more quietly than existing PS3 systems, which is good news for people who like to watch movies or have conversations in the general vicinity of their game console. There's also a Vertical Stand, which will retail for $24. Not so awesome is Sony's removal of the Install Other OS feature... farewell, Linux.

Heroes Season 4 Promo Poster

Sony Alpha 850 leaked

This photo of what is presumably the upcoming Sony α850 DSLR was spotted by Photo Rumors on an unnamed retail site. It looks exactly the same as the α900, but doesn't really seem off on layout compared to the leaked α850 manual. The scary part is that the camera is listed for 1,999 Euro (about $2,833 US), so hopefully Sony is doing something a bit more wonderful under the hood than just those α900 downgrades that have been hinted at so far.

PS3 price cuts appear in print, must be real (update: 'new exciting Playstation 3')

As the story goes, a Kotaku reader just received these PS3 posters (now posted after the break) into the FYE shop where he works. You'll notice that the "new low price" is augmented with a "while supplies last" disclaimer indicating what could be a close-out on the 80GB (soon $300, reduced from $400) and 160GB ($400, reduced from $500) PlayStation 3 models. More evidence, perhaps, that a PS3 Slim announcement is imminent -- even as soon as today's Sony presser at the Cologne Gamescon Expo that kicks off at 12 noon ET or 1800 for those of you on Central Europe time.

Elite 360 No Longer Ships With HD Cables

One of the things I appreciated most about my Xbox 360 Elite was that it shipped with an HDMI cable in the box, letting me get the most out of my system's visuals without the need for further expense.

Thing is, I got my Elite years ago. If you plan on picking one up in the future, you won't be so lucky, as several GameStop employees have told us new models of the hardware hitting stores across the US (new box pictured) no longer ship with a HDMI cable. In fact, they don't even ship with component cables either, just some SD composite cables, meaning anyone with an HDTV is going to have to pay a little extra. An HD tax, if you will.

Forza Motorsport 3 Pre-Order Car and Collector's Edition Details

By Andrew Shin

It's no question that one of the Xbox 360's major exclusives for 2009 will be Forza Motorsport 3. The Forza series has always been a favourite amongst racing game fans and this latest installment looks to continue in this tradition.

Today new details were announced regarding a pre-order car and the Limited Collector's Edition version of the game.

If you pre-order the game, you will receive a custom painted Audi R8 V10. In fact, this is a special custom painted car from Forza community member Justin Van Dusen II. Justin's design was selected as the best car design by community members with approx. 300,000 votes.

Kate Beckinsale might be in Gears of War movie

During Epic Games’ Gears of War Panel at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego California, the director, Len Wiseman, and writer, Chris Morgan, of the upcoming film adaptation shared some details with fans about potential casting selections for the movie.

According to IGN, amongst the prospects to play Maria, the wife of one of the game’s protagonists, Dominic Santiago, Len Wiseman said he was interested in British actress Kate Beckinsale.

“If I can convince [Kate Beckinsale]—and I think I have a shot—I’d love to see that,” said Wiseman. He is also currently married to Beckinsale. Minor detail, that.

Though best known for her more dramatic roles in films like The Aviator and Pearl Harbor, Beckinsale is no stranger to making action flicks either. She starred in 2003 action movie Underworld as a sultry, leather clad vampire, and co-starred opposite Hugh Jackman in 2004’s Van Helsing.

However, contrary to Internet rumors that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be starring in a Gears of War movie, Wiseman was quick to announce they were currently not pursuing the former WWE wrestler.

“A Doom connection would not be smart for us,” said Wiseman, referring to the 2005 film adaptation of the classic PC shooter franchise which was a box office flop. The Doom movie starred recognizable actors like Johnson and Karl Urban, but was scorned by critics and currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of only 20%.

Toshiba applies for BDA admission, Blu-ray players and laptops coming soon

We'd already heard that Toshiba -- the outfit best known for solidly backing HD DVD during the two-year format war of the early 21st century -- was preparing to swallow its pride and kick out a Blu-ray player by the year's end, but now it's official. The outfit just announced moments ago that it has "applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and plans to introduce products that support the Blu-ray format." Sadly, Tosh doesn't bother to mention exactly what kinds of BD-capable wares it hopes to produce, nor is it ready to disclose product launch time frames.

HP workstations and ProLiant blade servers put to work on the DreamWorks Animation film.

Audiences will experience monsters that move like liquid, whose arms and mouths disappear, and whose bodies are transparent in “Monsters vs. Aliens.” The characters exist in part because of the power of HP workstations, HP ProLiant blade servers and other HP technology that enabled the increased demands of a new generation of 3D filmmaking.

HP technology aided DreamWorks Animation in using the largest number of moving cameras on any of its films to date. The company was able to take creative elements in “Monsters vs. Aliens” to new levels by using several hundred HP xw8600 Workstations plus the largest and most powerful “render farm” of HP ProLiant blade servers ever used by DreamWorks Animation.

“For us, this 3D revolution is about immersing the audience into the movie,” says Ed Leonard, chief technology officer, DreamWorks Animation. “HP’s unique ability to deliver advanced technical tools that help to eliminate creative limitations has allowed us to dive headfirst into the exciting storytelling capabilities of stereoscopic 3-D.”

Infiniti M performance luxury sedan teaser released

Nissan's premium division Infiniti will be unveiling its next generation M saloon at the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance later this month. This will be the third iteration of the M but the first slated to make it to European dealerships, placed above the G37 in the product lineup.

The M saloon hybrid comes with a 3.7 liter V6 petrol/gasoline engine coupled to a compact electric motor juiced by lithium-ion batteries. Infiniti has aleady put that technology on display in Europe at the Geneva motor show back in March.

Selling a luxury hybrid in Europe poses several problems for premium automakers, who are also offering ever-increasingly efficient diesels in their models. The problem becomes which to promote, the diesel or the hybrid, in a way that one doesn't completely eclipse the other.

Schumacher warms up for F1 return in karts

Michael Schumacher continued preparing for his return to Formula One with a second day of kart racing in northern Italy Thursday.

"We had two very good karting days," the seven times world champion said on his website (www.michael-schumacher.de). "Arms, upper body, shoulders, neck -- an excellent practice indeed."

The 40-year-old German is coming out of retirement to fill in at Ferrari while Brazilian Felipe Massa recovers from injuries sustained in a nasty accident in qualifying at last month's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Schumacher is not allowed to use Ferrari's F60 car before the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23 beause the sport's regulations ban track testing during the season.