Entertainment
I don’t over-commit for money: Sharad Kelkar
Mumbai: Actor Sharad Kelkar, who will return to the small screen after a little over two years, says while his film commitments kept him busy, he didn’t take up TV offers as he does not believe in “over-committing” for money.
Asked why he was away from the TV scene, Sharad said here: “My films were on floors, and I won’t ever over-commit…Otherwise, you first sign up for something, then two, three months later, you say you can’t do it or you’re doing something else. There’s so much money involved in everything.”
“An actor should not take up assignments for so much money that he can’t do justice to every role. So, I won’t ever over-commit to anyone for money,” he added.
Sharad, popular for his roles in “Saat Phere – Saloni Ka Safar” and “Kuch Toh Log Kahenge”, has also featured in films like “1920: The Evil Returns”, “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela” and Marathi film “Lai Bhaari”. Now he is awaiting the release of “Hero”, which will hit the screens on September 11.
But before that, he will be seen as a CBI officer in &TV’s new show “Agent Raghav – Crime Branch”, which will be aired on September 5.
Kelkar says his role in the show is that of an investigative agent.
“His mind is his weapon,” said Sharad, who believes that in real life too, he is quite observant.
“I feel I have a sixth season… I like observing people, and I think I can read them. I get very strong vibes about things and people, and mostly they are right,” said the actor.
About his distinguishable baritone voice, the actor said: “Speech pattern, clarity and pauses… We keep learning these from our seniors.”
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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