Entertainment
It’s confirmed! Sonam Kapoor, Anand Ahuja getting married on May 8
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor will marry Delhi-based businessman Anand Ahuja here on May 8, the family has confirmed following weeks of speculation around the wedding.
A statement on behalf of the Kapoor and Ahuja families was issued on Tuesday.
“The Kapoor and Ahuja families take great joy and pride in announcing the marriage of Sonam and Anand. The wedding will take place on May 8 in Mumbai,” read the statement.
The families have said it is an “intimate affair” and have requested the media “to respect the family’s need for privacy”.
“Thank you for all your blessings and love, as we celebrate this special moment in our lives,” the statement read.
Sonam and Anand have been dating for some years, but it is only since a few months that they have been open about their moments and travel diaries together on social media.
The lighting and decorations outside the Kapoor residence here added fuel to the speculation about the wedding.
Veteran actor Anil Kapoor, Sonam’s father, reportedly commented at an event last week: “Media has always been with me and my family when we began our careers. We will share everything at the right time. You all will know very soon. We won’t hide these details. You will know why there is lighting outside the house.”
Sonam, after debuting in Bollywood with “Saawariya” in 2008, has featured in movies like “Delhi-6”, “Aisha”, “Raanjhanaa”, “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, “Khoobsurat”, “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo”, “Neerja” and “Pad Man”. Her performance in “Neerja” won her a Special Mention at the National Film Awards.
Now just days before her next film “Veere Di Wedding” releases on June 1, she is busy preparing for her own wedding.
A week after her D-day, Sonam will be seen at the 71st Cannes Film Festival red carpet to fulfil her commitment as a L’oreal Paris brand ambassador on May 14 and May 15.
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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