Excellent news. I dont like the idea of wasting shutter clicks for focusing so the cheaper way to get Liveview is most welcome. And hopefully it can be modded easily.
Edit: just read 7 point focus instead of 9 and its using SDHC not CF. Is SDHC as good as CF?
Compare link 400d vs 1000D vs 450D
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/Canon_1000D/page2.asp