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Intel seems to finally understand that releasing a new chip or two every year isn't going to let it break into the mobile market. There are many ARM-based competitors already offering much better alternatives such as Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Apple, TSMC, NVIDIA and many more. New players emerging from China such as MediaTek are also offering equal if not better performance processors at much cheaper price points. New Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has had this to say about it:

We see that Atom is now at the same importance, it's launching on the same leading edge technology, sometimes even coming before Core," says Krzanich.

I think you'll start to see stuff with our silicon toward the end of the year and the beginning of next year," We're trying to get our silicon into some of them, create some ourselves, understand the usage and create an ecosystem."-Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel

Pico Projectors are teeny tiny LED (usually) based projectors that are much easier to carry around than your average projector (which are about the size of a standard mini-tower desktop). While there are pico projectors for smartphones, most pico projectors of that kind only work for a certain type of smartphone. So far, only the Samsung Galaxy Beam and the Promate lumiTab are the only smartphone and tablet that have built-in pico projectors. Well, now with the Smart Beam (or otherwise known as the INNOIO INNOCUBE) cube you can get a pico projector that works with any smartphone.

According to Instructables, invisible headphones are more or less tiny magnets that you insert into your ears that pick up signals from a coil of magnetic metal fashioned into a necklace. When connected to an amplifier and MP3 player it allows you to have invisible wireless headphones. While the Instructables site it was based on tells you to put the magnets in your ears, Rich Lee went one step further and had them implanted permanently. While he still has to wear the coil necklace and amplifier to pick up sound, it works much in the same way as the bone induction audio used by Google Glass. He says:

"Listening to music is nice and probably the most obvious answer, but I intend to do some very creative things with it. I can see myself using it with the GPS on my smartphone to navigate city streets on foot. I plan to hook it up to a directional mic of some sort (possibly disguised as a shirt button or something) so I can hear conversations across a room. Having a mic hooked up to it and routed through my phone would be handy."

Recently, Panasonic announced their Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH lens for their Micro Four Thirds systems. The lens picks up from it's 20mm f/1.7 lens which was discontinued by offering a new metallic profile that is both lighter and probably stronger than the previous version while maintaining the same levels of performance. The new lens comes a rounded pancake shape for better performance in out-of-focus areas. The lens has a metal mount with multi-coated lens elements which minimize ghosting and flaring. It will also be available in both black and silver. Tech specs for the Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II include:

• Supports Panasonic and Olympus Micro Four Thirds Lens Mounts
• Focal Length: 20mm
• Angle of View: 57°
• Aperture: f/1.7 - f/16
• Filter Size: 46mm
• 35mm equivalent: 40mm
• Min Focus: 20cm
• 63mm | 87g

If you have the money for it, then you can get a really good premium compact camera without ever having to drop into the higher-end performance range with interchangable lens. Sony's take on this type of compact camera now includes the newly released Cyber-shot Sony RX100 II and Cyber-shot RX1R. Sporting a larger 20.9 CMOS sensor, the RX100 II's very good low light performance and features include the following:

• 1-inch 20.9MP Exmor R CMOS Sensor
• f/1.8 Zeiss lens
• 3.6x Optical Zoom, 7.2x Clear Image Zoom
• multi interface shoe (viewfinder, flash, etc.)
• Supports WiFi + NFC

Samsung recently partnered with Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) to launch the Samsung GALAXY NX-AIPS Young Reporters partnership program. Started in 2011 the AIPS program seeks to nurture and train youth on sports photojournalism. For the current program this is done by providing the Samsung Galaxy NX to trainee participants who will undergo a 10-day course on sports reporting using the Samsung Galaxy NX. The course started on 25 June 2013 and ends on 4 July 2013, in Lausane, Switzerland. Experts will be on hand during the course to help these youths and trainee AIPS reporters gain the skills necessary to do successful sports photojournalism. Participants are then expected to return home with the Samsung Galaxy NX and then continue reporting on local sporting events using the device through Samsung NX and AIPS social media channels.

After a little waiting the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is finally here in Malaysia. While the processor and RAM are definitely midrange there are a number of other tech specs which puts it on par with some higher end premium smartphones. Some of the more notable features include:

• 6.3-inch HD Super Clear LCD 
• 1.7GHz dual-core processor
• 8MP rear camera + 1.9MP front camera
• 1.5GB RAM 
• 16GB storage 
• Supports 4G LTE
• 3200 mAh battery 
• Android 4.2

After the recent reveal of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, many of us were wondering when the other rumoured Sony smartphone would be coming out. This is of course referring to the Sony i1 Honami or better known as Sony's cameraphone. A number of leaks have appeared in various sites showing off images of what could be the upcoming Sony i1 Honami cameraphone. However, while the images do seem to match, the overall camera placement seems a bit off for it to have interchangable lens. We're still wondering how Sony are going to fit in a 20MP sensor inside such a thin chassis but since this is Sony, anything is possible. The lack of camera hump may also suggest that these aren't images of the Honami but of some other impending Sony smartphone. As luck would have it, Sony is rumoured to be having another event soon on 4 July 2013. We'll see then, but for now, take a look at the leaked pics.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition and HTC One Google Edition recently went on sale on the US Google Play Store. Both run Android 4.2.2, however, both of them also seem to be carrying new versions of the camera app, some different boot animation and wallpapers. The camera app in particlar enables these features:

• Arc shaped menu
• Ability to use Volume Rocker as dedicated camera button

Looking to get the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 but wonder at the price? Well, Celcom now have it on subsidized prices starting from RM1088. This really big phablet offers good mid-range capabilities with it's 1.7GHz dual-core processor and 1.5GB RAM but does have some nice features at the ready like 4G LTE support and an 8MP rear camera. The smartphone is available on Celcom First Prime, First Premier and First Elite under 12 month and 18 month contracts along with Mobile Internet Data plans. You may have to pay some advance payment as well but this will be rebated later on. For the full details check out the table below: