Entertainment
‘Om Shanti Om’ will redefine devotional music: Baba Ramdev
Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS) Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who will next be seen as Maha Guru in television show “Om Shanti Om”, says the upcoming singing reality entertainer will redefine the magic of devotional music in India.
“This is a great platform to bring out devotional genre of music through interesting renditions unheard before. I am delighted to be part of this show because it is everything that Indians are proud of — our tradition, our culture and our faith. With ‘Om Shanti Om’, we will redefine devotional music in a way it appeals to the youngsters today,” Ramdev said in a statement.
“Om Shanti Om”, to be aired on Star Bharat starting August 28, will provide a musical stage to contestants will re-invent known devotional songs that appeal to modern India.
To be hosted by Aparshakti Khurana, the show will feature actress Sonakshi Sinha, composer-singer Shekhar Ravjiani and singer Kanika Kapoor as judges.
“I have always been spiritual and believe that music is the best way to reach any level of spirituality. ‘Om Shanti Om’ is an extension of that belief and I love the way it is combining contemporary and youthful music with devotion! I am excited to be part of the show and completely sure that youth will connect to it as well,” Sonakshi said.
Shekhar said he was “amazed” when he heard the concept of the show.
“This is the first time where devotional songs will be sung in the rearranged version on national television. Star Bharat as a channel is redefining the genre of music reality shows on Indian television with ‘Om Shanti Om’,” Shekhar said.
Kanika said: “I am very excited to be a part of the show. As a trained classical music singer under the able hands of industry’s best Bhajan Samrat Anup Jalota ji, I wish to focus on the technicalities as well as the vocals of all the lovely contestants. With me as a judge on the show, I look forward to contributing immensely to devotional music that is the heart and soul of India.”
–IANS
sas/rb/vm
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.
Content provided by Adverloom