Entertainment
Sonali Bendre set to return to Mumbai for ‘happy interval’
Actress Sonali Bendre Behl, who has been putting up a brave fight against metastatic cancer for months in New York, will return to Mumbai — where her heart is — for a “happy interval”.
Sonali made the announcement via a social media post, which included a message and a photograph in which Sonali looks all set for the journey.
“They say ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’. It sure does. But let’s never underestimate what distance teaches you. Being away from home in the city of New York, I realised I was walking amongst so many stories. Each trying to write their own chapter in different ways. Each struggling to do it but never giving up. Each taking it one day at a time,” Sonali wrotr.
She added: “I’m on my way back to where my heart is. It’s a feeling I can’t describe in words but I’m going to try – it’s the joy to see my family and friends again, the excitement to do what I love and mainly the gratitude for the journey I’ve had up until this moment.
“The fight is not yet over… but I’m happy and looking forward to this happy interval.”
For Sonali, who has spent the tumultuous time with bravado and a smile on her face, “it’s time to learn that there is a new normal out there and I can’t wait to embrace it and switch on the sunshine”.
As her “adventure with life continues”, Sonali was reminded of words by Chris Martin: “Everything you want is a dream away. Under this pressure, under this weight, We are diamonds taking shape.”
Sonali, married to film producer Goldie Behl, announced earlier this year that she was diagnosed with a high grade cancer. She said her family and close friends have provided her the best support system.
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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