Entertainment
Deepika’s wax statue ‘double trouble’ for sister
As actress Deepika Padukone unveiled her Statue of Purpose at Madame Tussauds here, her sister Anisha Padukone called it “double trouble”.
The actress, who has been an active voice in creating awareness about mental health has dedicated the Statue to her initiative, and hence it is named as Statue of Purpose.
“As if one of her was not enough. Double trouble, Madame Tussauds, wax statue, London,” Anisha captioned a photograph that features Deepika and her wax statue.
Apart from giving blockbusters, the actress has created awareness about the significance of mental health and has been striving to get rid of the stigma revolving around various mental diseases. She also runs a foundation Live Laugh Love to signify mental health at every step.
“As a little girl, I was a very curious kid, for me, purpose is something that is very important. However, big or small, whatever I am doing in my life, purpose and why we do what we do is very important to me,” Deepika said in a statement.
“After I got a call from Madame Tussauds, I thought ‘What is the purpose of this, why are we doing this, or what is it that my fans will remember me for, remember my figure for, what is it that I would like to leave behind’, and the cause of mental health is very close to my heart, it is something that I am extremely passionate about.
“I said that’s it, I would like for my fans when they see my figure I hope it reminds them of someone who did something for the cause of mental illness, who worked towards creating awareness and destigmatising mental illness. I hope that it gives people a sense of upliftment and a sense of hope. I hope that message comes through.”
Deepika was accompanied for the wax statue launch by husband Ranveer Singh, her parents and her in-laws.
The “Padmaavat” actress is currently gearing up for her first production venture which will have her essaying the role of an acid attack victim.
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