Channel NewsAsia, website available on iPod touch & iPhone
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 March 2009 2040 hrs

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SINGAPORE: It's now even easier to get your daily dose of news on the go. MediaCorp has worked with Apple to offer a free Channel NewsAsia download application for iPod touch and iPhone users.

With a click of the mouse on the Apple iTunes website, you can download the App into your iPod touch or iPhone to enjoy the best of Channel NewsAsia and its website on the go. The free download will enable you to view videos on Singapore news and get the latest news updates from around the world.

MediaCorp's vice-president for E-News and Interactive Media News, Yeo Hock Lin, said: "It's so easy to whip out a mobile device the size of your palm as opposed to flipping up a laptop, open it and get it connected. It's really an extension of the website into the mobile space.

"I think it's very important because as people become more mobile and as our viewers who watch Channel NewsAsia on TV and log in to channelnewsasia.com and they move around - they travel for work, for pleasure - and if they have no opportunity to carry with them a laptop and they have their own iPhone or iPod touch, they can basically carry channelnewsasia.com with them.

"We provide video clips of Singapore stories, so if they miss them at home when they are away, they can start up the application and watch the video clips."

The application uses Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity to download the latest content from Channel NewsAsia's website. And in the presence of a strong Wi-Fi connection, it is a cinch to read the news and view videos.

But while the application and content is free, users may incur data charges from their service provider if they have to tap onto 3G in the absence of a Wi-Fi connection.

Application downloads are becoming increasingly popular as mobile devices come with more advanced capabilities and a richer user interface. Companies are also tapping into such services to increase branding and awareness.

The Channel NewsAsia App is among the top three most downloaded applications since it was launched on Sunday. On the cards are plans to launch the App on other platforms such as Google's Android.

This latest application from MediaCorp follows the launch of a similar application by its TODAY newspaper about three months ago, making it the first news organisation in Singapore to offer such a service for iPod touch and iPhone users.

Apple now has more than 15,000 applications on its iPhone and iPod touch App Store, which opened online on July 11 last year across 62 countries. There have been more than 500 million application downloads over the past eight months.

- CNA/ir