Entertainment
Didn’t feel 12 years’ gap: ‘Indian Idol’ judges
Mumbai: As the musical reality show “Indian Idol 9″ is all set to start, judges Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam and Farah Khan said they did not feel the gap of 12 years.”When we came back and sat through the audition, it felt like yesterday when we listened to so many new talents and had our fight, fun and talk over music,” said music director Anu Malik.
Sharing her experience, Farah Khan said: “The moment we went to the set, we started from where we ended, nothing has changed we are bonded over music and there is a great friendship. “Within five minutes, I and Anu had two fights and we sorted that out within 10 minutes. ‘Indian Idol’ will remain a very special show for me because I started my television career with this show,” she added.
“I and Anu are engrossed in music, its technical aspect, voice quality of a participant,” Sonu Nigam said. “Being a dancer-choreographer, Farah has a strong sense of music that reflects on her judgment and gives us the new perspective of an audience that adds up to the process of judging a talent,” he added.
Following the traditional format of the show, among 140 chosen participants, through various rounds, judges finally have chosen 14 participants who would be judged by the audience through votes.
Asked about the good and bad part of judging such an iconic show, Farah said: “I think choosing the best from so many beautiful talented singers was a tough task and we felt bad to reject some of them.” “All of them were really really talented singers,” she said.Seconding her comment, Anu Malik said: “Being objective and rejecting was the bad experience. “Indian Idol Season 9” is starting from December 24 December and would be aired every Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. on Sony Entertainment Television.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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