Entertainment
Actor Johnny Depp security guard says he had to pay $420 to man to get the actor’s phone back after Amber Heard threw it out the window during a fight
Amber Heard threw Johnny Depp’s phone out the window during a fight in 2016, one of Depp’s security guards testified in court on Thursday.
Depp has taken his ex-wife to trial for defamation, claiming she ruined his career and reputation by insinuating in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed that she had been the victim of domestic violence. Heard has denied the claims, claiming that Depp physically assaulted her on multiple occasions before and during their marriage.
On Thursday, Starling Jenkins, a longtime member of Depp’s security staff, testified. He spoke about the aftermath of a fight the couple had on Heard’s 30th birthday on April 21, 2016. The argument has become a focal point of the trial — marking the point when the couple began to separate.
Jenkins was working security the night of Heard’s birthday party. His shift ended at 11:15 p.m., by which point he said Depp had not shown up. Depp’s lateness is said to be what sparked an argument between the couple which ended with Depp leaving the apartment for one of his other homes later that evening.
Jenkins says he arrived back at the couple’s main home, in the Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles, the next morning around 7:45 a.m. He says he spoke with Heard on arriving who told him that she “got in a fight with Johnny last night” and threw his phone, wallet, credit cards, and passport, over the balcony and onto the street below.
Jenkins said he then used the Find My iPhone program to track down Depp’s phone to Skid Row, a neighborhood known for its homeless population, not far from Depp and Heard’s apartment building.
Jenkins says he approached a homeless man about the phone who “was honest” and “returned it.”
“I gave him a reward for it: $420, chicken tacos, chips, apples, and Fiji water,” Jenkins said.
On cross-examination by Heard’s lawyers, Jenkins admitted that Heard told him that Depp threw her phone out a window first, and that she responded by doing the same.
Jenkins said he didn’t look for Heard’s phone because she had already recovered it.
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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