Entertainment
I’m slotted in negative roles: Rahul Dev
Panaji: Actor Rahul Dev, known for his tall, rugged and fit frame, says he has been slotted as a negative character onscreen.
The actor, who has essayed rough and tough roles in Hindi and Tamil films, told media: “I’ve done (various) negative roles… Everything in life tends to slot you. I have been in showbiz for 25 years… But like a reporter would have some kind of portfolio, in the same way I have been slotted as a negative artiste (in films).”
Rahul is currently here as part of couple-based reality TV show “Power Couple” with his girlfriend and actress Mugdha Godse.
Talking about his film work, Rahul said: “I have three projects and one of them is ‘Dishoom’, which I am shooting for. It is obviously a negative role (for me), I have been presented quite well… Rohit (Dhawan) has been a kind director.”
The actor has also had two back-to-back film releases in the Tamil film industry — “10 Endrathukulla” and “Vedalam”. The latter, featuring superstar Ajith Kumar, raked in Rs.15.3 crore on release day in Tamil Nadu, and emerged as the biggest box office opener in the language since last year’s blockbuster “Kaththia”.
For now, Rahul is focussed on “Power Couple”, which will be aired on Sony Entertainment Television channel starting Saturday.
The show will see celebrity couples like Apoorva Agnihotri-Shilpa Saklani, Aamir Ali-Sanjeeda Sheikh, Delnaaz Irani-Percy Karkaria and Ashmit Patel-Mehak Chahal taking physical and mental tasks for testing their compatibility.
“Power Couple”, which was launched here, will be co-hosted by Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan.
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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