Entertainment
Why Vidya Balan loves this time of the year
Mumbai: Actress Vidya Balan says she loves back-to-back festival period starting from Ganesh Chaturthi in September to Dussehra in late October to the ongoing Diwali season.
“I really like it when these festivals come one after the other. The climate is also quite good starting from rainy season during Ganapati to the hot climate during Navratri and the beginning of winters during Diwali. It’s just that the transition is lovely.”
“I always love this part of the year. There are lights hung everywhere, people are going for shopping, there is an energy, enthusiasm and hope among everyone,” Vidya said in an interview.
When asked about her Diwali plans, she said her husband-producer Siddharth Roy Kapur is out of town and hence she would celebrate it with her family.
“Every year, we have a simple celebration for Diwali and it’s always a family affair. We go to the temple, wear new clothes and go to give clothes and gifts to near and dear ones. We spend a lot of time wishing each other on phones through messages, and in the evening we light diyas,” she said.
Vidya also says that she lights just one “phooljhadi” as she’s not fond of firecrackers.
“Diwali is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in the country crossing regional as well as religious boundaries. The celebration is spread over numerous days with events such as ‘Dhanteras’, ‘Lakshmi Pooja’, and ‘Bhau-beej’ ensuring the festive spirit stays over few days,” she said.
“There is a lot of hustle and bustle as there are many people visiting us, and that’s where the fun lies. The true wishes from the heart emerge and Diwali is just about wishing each other well,” she said.
“I’d like to wish all viewers the best wishes for Diwali. I hope that light is present in your lives forever. Have a safe Diwali and Happy New Year,” added Vidya.
The actress was last seen in the romantic film “Hamari Adhuri Kahani”.
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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