Entertainment
Atif Aslam plans maiden northeast gig
New Delhi: In over a decade-long journey, Pakistani musician Atif Aslam has made his ‘aadeez’ — a term for his global fan following — sway to his chart-topping songs. The “Aadat” hitmaker will finally stage his debut performance in Guwahati where his fans too can’t wait for his gig.
Known for having an ability to hit high notes effortlessly and strumming stringed instruments without being formally trained, the 32-year-old is looking forward to his maiden performance in the northeast this month.
“Indeed, it’s my first time in the region. I’m looking forward to performing in Guwahati. I’m very excited about it, but I don’t know how they are going to react to the EDM (electronic dance music). I’ll probably go for shopping too,” Atif told.
After having done concerts in Indian cities like Chennai, Udaipur, Delhi and Ahmedabad, Atif, who believes there are no boundaries when it comes to music, will visit the Assamese city for Royal Stag MTV Bollyland — a series of multi-city music concerts that see the fusion of Bollywood songs with electronic beats.
His recent concert in Pune got cancelled due to opposition from Shiv Sena, but Assamese musician-actor-filmmaker Zubeen Garg, who enjoys a cult status in the northeastern state, is positive that there won’t be any resistance to Atif’s show in Guwahati.
“I’m sure he will get a warm welcome. Northeast crowd is very nice…it’s upbeat and the timing is very good. Everyone is in a festive mood here (Assam). There is nothing like Pakistani or Hindustani here. No racial thing in Guwahati,” said Zubeen.
“The music scene is good here. People listen to Bollywood music, but folk music is very big here,” he added.
Fellow Assamese musician Joi Barua, who has also sung for Bollywood movies like “Udaan” and “Dev.D”, believes it’s “a super occasion”.
“An actual ‘east meets west’ moment for our subcontinent… Two very different cultures. I really wish him the very best,” said Joi, who considers Atif’s Bollywood debut track “Woh lamhe” from the 2005 film “Zeher” special.
Mridu Pavan Deka, who worked as an animator on National Award-winning film “Sound of Joy”, is on cloud nine as he will get an opportunity to watch the “Doorie” singer live.
“I’m eagerly waiting for it. I’m sure there will be a lot of people who will attend the concert. I think a majority of the crowd will be from Guwahati only as Bollywood music is more popular here as compared to other northeastern states, where the presence of western and regional music is stronger,” he said.
Atif, who likes being in India, won’t entertain music lovers with his bandmates this time. Instead, he will match up to the beats played by DJ Chetas at the upcoming musical event.
Still, his fans in Guwahati, where Pakistani bands like Jal and Strings have rocked before, are looking forward to it.
Kaushik Ram Phookun, 30, said that “he is one singer who kills it when he is live”.
“I’ve been following his music for quite some time now. I love his voice and the way he fuses rock with Sufi. So, I’m very excited especially because he’s going to be here in Guwahati,” Phookun said.
Asked about Atif’s EDM gig, Phookun said: “I wasn’t aware of that. But that makes it more interesting.”
Biplab Jyotidoley is also geared up for the concert.
“He is a good singer and I like his kind of music. I’m going because of that, and not because he is an artist from across the border. Music has no boundary. Atif is known for performing with his own band, but this concept of performing with a DJ…I would like to witness that,” said Jyotidoley.
While there is still time to find out whether his northeastern fans will accept his EDM performance, he surely rocked the ‘Aadeez’ in Indore with a similar act in April.
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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