Entertainment
Kate Middleton defies black dress code at BAFTA
London, Feb 19 (IANS) The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton on Monday defied the Times’s Up protest at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, organised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), by wearing a green dress, instead of black worn by the celebrities attending the ceremony.
Film stars and directors made the one-colour statement to show support for the fight against sexual harassment against women, however, only the ribbon around Middleton’s Jenny Packham dress was black, reports dailymail.co.uk.
The dress code followed by BAFTA ceremony was to show solidarity with the American Golden Globes held last month.
Middleton wore an empire line dress in a deep shade of green, which was complemented by an emerald necklace and earrings.
Perhaps in a subtle nod to the movement, she accessorised her attire with a black bow above her bump, matching her shoes and clutch handbag.
Before the ceremony, it was not made clear whether Middleton would wear an all-black outfit, with experts pointing out that royals only wear black at funerals, so supporting the cause would be a breach of protocol.
Middleton and Prince William, who is the president of BAFTA, will meet with representatives including BAFTA Chief Executive Amanda Berry, and watch the star-studded ceremony from the front row, which takes place at the Royal Albert Hall.
William will also be presenting the Fellowship award — the ceremony’s highest accolade — to director Ridley Scott.
–IANS
ks/qd
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