Entertainment
‘Phantom’ bears no resemblance to any organisation: Makers
New Delhi: The makers of “Phantom” have clarified that the espionage drama “bears no resemblance to any actual organisation anywhere in the world”, after they received a legal threat by a medical charity MSF over wrongly using its name in the movie.
In a statement issued by the film’s banners on Wednesday, the producers said: “Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt Ltd and UTV Software Communications Ltd clarify that the non-governmental organisation which is depicted under the name ‘Medicine International’ in the film ‘Phantom’ is purely fictitious and bears no resemblance to, and is not related to, any actual organisation anywhere in the world.”
This comes after an aid charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) decided to take legal action against the film’s producers, claiming that misrepresentation of the medical group can “harm its work in places where its access depends on a reputation for neutrality” and put the lives of their aid workers deployed in conflict zones at risk.
However, the producers have maintained that “no activities, working, portrayal or attributes of the said fictitious organisation should be imputed to any real organisation anywhere in the world”.
“It is further clarified that any press reports, reviews, materials, promotional interviews to the contrary are inaccurate and incorrect,” the statement read further.
The issue over the Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif-starrer, directed by Kabir Khan, escalated last week.
According to an earlier report by bbc.com, Martin Sloot, the general director of MSF India, said that the blurring of the lines between fact and fiction could affect MSF’s work and that the MSF is mulling over taking legal action to correct the misrepresentation.
“Phantom”, which revolves around global terrorism, is an adaptation of the novel “Mumbai Avengers” and is based on events post-26/11 Mumbai terror attack. It released on August 28.
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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