Page 9 - AIB | The Chanel | Issue 1 2013

MEDIA MARKETS | THE CHANNEL
IN BRIEF
POLAROID KIDS
TABLET
US photography company
Polaroid has introduced a
seven-inch tablet aimed at
children which combines
access to entertainment and
educational content in a
durable product. Running on
Android 4.0, it comes
preloaded with 35 child-
centric apps including Draw,
Kids Cam, Music Studio and
Kids Vids, which allows
young users to stream
filtered video content, and a
selection of interactive e-
books including Dr Seuss
titles and others. Initially the
tablet will only be available
in the US, price $149.99.
DART ASIA
FELLOWSHIP
The Dart Centre is organising
the 2013 Dart Asia Pacific
Fellowship in Bangkok,
Thailand, in May. It is a
unique seminar programme
for veteran journalists,
editors and freelancers
based in Asia or the Pacific
who want to deepen their
knowledge of emotional
trauma and improve coverage
of violence, conflict and
tragedy. Fellowships are
open to print, broadcast and
online reporters, photo-
graphers, camera operators,
editors and producers with
at least five years’ full-time
journalism experience.
HD IPTV STBS
Albis Technologies’
comprehensive range of HD
IPTV set-top boxes includes
the new SceneGate Micro II,
capable of delivering linear
TV, VoD, OTT, and PVR
services from a compact
design that effectively
ensures low standby power
consumption and capable of
supporting HD resolution up
to 1080p via an HDMI 1.4a
interface. All products
within the SceneGate
portfolio offer high-
performance HD decoding,
and DLNA-based media
sharing to enable in-home
streaming and multiroom
environments.
Al Arabiya
moves
With 8m unique visitors,
AlArabiya.net, the online website
of Al Arabiya News Channel, is
one of the most popular,
interactive news portals in the
Arab world. Committed to user
generated content, AlArabiya.net
allows its users to interact freely
with news, whilst the video
forum gives budding journalists
and documentary makers the
opportunity to broadcast their
material. The site can be
browsed in Arabic, English, Urdu,
and Persian and has launched
the world’s first live streaming
service in HD.
In mid-2012 Al Arabiya, which
broadcasts 24/7 free-to-air and
is part of MBC Group, brought
Faisal J. Abbas onboard as
Editor-in-Chief for its English
online portal. According to Abdul
Rahman Al-Rashed, General
Manager of Al Arabiya News
Channel, Abbas's activity will
expand beyond the English portal
to include the two Al Arabiya
channels, its websites and
various platforms in an effort to
streamline AlArabiya.net
operations.
In November MBC Group
launched a new satellite
channel, MBC Egypt, with a
primary focus on entertainment
tailored for viewers in Egypt.
Programming includes series
and movies, comedy, a talk show
focusing on contemporary
Egyptian women's issues, 'Arab
Idol' and other educational and
religious shows.
THE CHANNEL | ISSUE 1 2013 | 09