Entertainment
Famous cartoon character Mickey Mouse earlier know as Lucky Rabbit turns 90
New Delhi: Iconic cartoon character Mickey Mouse turned 90 on Sunday, and his birthday is being celebrated around the world, including in India.
Mickey Mouse made his first appearance in Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928, and has ruled hearts since then.
He was born out of necessity when Walt Disney discovered he had lost the rights to his previous character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. In fact, in the first cartoons Mickey’s voice was provided by Walt Disney.
“Mickey Mouse is a global phenomenon and for the last 90 years, the character has been loved by people across all age groups. With his universal appeal and ability to emotionally connect with generations all over the world, no other character occupies a similar space in the hearts and minds of our fan base,” said Ravindran Achariya, Executive Director, Media Networks, Disney India.
“He is a versatile character that cuts across gender and generations and brings families together in a way no one else can. Over the years, the character has changed in its appearance to stay relevant with his fans across ages, given how much the world has changed since 1928.
“Having said that, the character attributes what Mickey stands for are very universal — Optimism, fun, laughter, family, and those never go out of style – something that has stayed consistent with Mickey,” Achariya added.
Disney kicked off the World’s Biggest Mouse Party earlier this year in Disneyland, and it continues with ‘Get Your Ears On-A Mickey and Minnie Celebration’.
Iconic cartoon character Mickey Mouse born as Lucky Rabbit turns 90-year-old:
Disney Malaysia will be launching the “Celebrate The Magic” campaign at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, there’s “Mickey: The True Original Exhibition” in New York, Volkswagen is celebrating 90 years of Mickey Mouse’s magic through the ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’ campaign, a new attraction in Disney Parks dedicated to the character, has been announced — all a part of his birthday bash.
Achariya said: “For his 90th anniversary celebrations, a series of worldwide celebrations will be taking place this year and India too is joining the party with a unique initiative called the Stay Fit with Mickey and Minnie, interesting product collaborations with brands and lots of fun and interactive social media conversations.”
In India, special collections from brands like Jack & Jones, Only, Vero Moda, Bewakoof, Zivame, with the Disney character in focus have been launched.
As part of Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday celebrations, Disney India also came out with ‘Stay Fit’ activity by teaching children various fun-filled, easy-to-follow dance steps.
Talking about coming out with fashion merchandise, Vineet Gautam, Chief Executive Officer and Country Head at BESTSELLER India, said: “The styles are designed to reflect the quirk of the Disney character along with the DNA of the brands. In the past, similar capsule collections have been extremely popular.
“More and more people are opting for these products as they relate to these Disney icons and it reflects their atypical sense of style and inspiration.”
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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