Entertainment
Amitabh to perform with Shillong Chamber Choir in Jodhpur
Mumbai: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will head to Jodhpur on Friday for a fund-raising event, where he will be seen performing with the famous Shillong Chamber Choir and Vienna Chamber Orchestra.
The performance will be part of the Jodhpur One World Retreat 2015, which is to be held March 20-22. Funds raised at the gala are donated to the Head Injury Foundation, founded by Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur in February 2007 to build a comprehensive system in India for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries.
During the evening of the event’s second day, a grand finale will have a stellar performance by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Shillong Chamber Choir. Joining them will be Amitabh.
“The Shillong Choir from the North East of the country, a group that has impressed everyone with their performances shall be one of the attractions at the event and I shall be performing with them for this fund raising event,” the 72-year-old confirmed on his blog.
Talking about the cause of head injuries, he added: “The Maharaja’s own son had a fall from his horse while playing polo, and was seriously damaged in the injury that followed to his brain. He has been through a great deal of trauma, and immobility… but thankfully he has recovered sufficiently well after years of treatment to almost normalcy.”
The Shillong Chamber Choir shot to fame after it won a reality talent show “India’s Got Talent” in 2010. A group of 13-22 people, the choir has performed for US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, and its founder Neil Nongkynrih has been honoured with Padma Shri.
This is not the first time that Amitabh will share the stage with the Meghalaya-based group. They were roped in to perform for the opening episode of popular TV game show “Kaun Banega Crorepati 6”, which is famously hosted by the Big B.
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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