News

Sennheiser Helps Arabic Content Creators Get Their Message Across With Portable Lavalier Set

The set is an excellent investment for content creators who understand the importance of audio quality in content production.

Published

5 years ago

August 27, 2021

Joanna Melki

Sennheiser

It has never been easier for Arabic content creators to create engaging material and share it with the whole world. Even mid-range smartphones can effortlessly record high-definition video, and their broad connectivity options make it possible to stream the recorded footage in real-time. DSLR cameras have also come a long way, offering an incredible picture quality at increasingly affordable prices.

But captivating video footage on its own hardly ever tell the full story. To have the biggest impact possible, especially when recording interviews and capturing real-life events as they unfold in their raw form, it must be supported by high-quality audio. Unfortunately, that’s where many smartphones and even DSLR cameras fall short.

The XSW-D Portable Lavalier set from Sennheiser is intended to help Arabic content creators get their message across as clearly as possible. The set includes an XSW-D 3.5mm (1/8”) transmitter, XSW-D 3.5mm (1/8”) receiver, ME2-II clip-on lavalier mic, 3.5mm (1/8”) coiled cable, cold shoe mount, belt clip, and USB-A to USB-C charging cable.

Sennheiser XSW-D portable lavalier set

To use it, you simply connect the transmitter and the clip-on microphone together and pair it with the receiver, which you can then connect to your smartphone or DSLR camera. Because the transmitter and receiver communicate using the 2.4 GHz band, they can be up to 75 meters (250 feet) away from each other. On a single charge, you can expect to record for about 5 hours, and there’s nothing stopping you from pairing multiple transmitters with a single receiver.

Also Read: Yela Secures Over $2M To Connect Fans & Celebrities Via Video Messages

As one would expect from Sennheiser, the audio quality of the XSW-D Portable Lavalier set is excellent, with no distracting hisses and glitches ruining the listening experience. Overall, the set is an excellent investment for all content creators who understand the importance of audio quality in content production and are willing to spend some money to stand out from the crowd.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.