Entertainment
Short films allows to tell a story in less time, says Freida Pinto
New Delhi: Known for her superb performance in “Slumdog Millionaire” and delivered her acting talent in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Immortals”, actress Freida Pinto said that working in a short film is “fascinating” as it allows you to tell a story in less time.
“Short films are very fascinating because we don’t get the comfort of like two hours feature to tell the whole story and develop it. So you pretty much have to be very spot on in a short film to tell the whole story,” Freida, who starred in the short film “Black Knight Decoded” as part of the Pepsi Challenge, told media.
“Black Knight Decoded”, released in November last year, imagines a rich narrative around the Black Knight satellite.
“I was actually headed back into the sci-fi world. In America, there are many people who believe in the Black Knight theory and they believe in the extraterrestrial world. It’s very, very big in America. In a way for me to find comfort in it and understand this other world which I didn’t know was very fascinating,” Freida said.
“As actors, we always like to do things that we haven’t done before. It’s a great way for us to learn the material and understand a world which we are not very familiar with,” she added.
Directed by Jabbar Raisani, “Black Knight Decoded” follows the journey of a father (David Oyelowo) and daughter (Layla Crawford) on their quest to decode the radio signals transmitted from the Black Knight satellite.
With the help of their friend Ahna (Freida), they seek to unite the world in anticipation of the Black Knight’s (voiced by Usher) revelation on Earth.
Freida, who earlier worked with Oyelowo in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, says it was interesting to work with the “Selma” actor again.
“The other interesting thing for me was getting back to the film set with David Oyelowo. He is such a phenomenal actor. Also Jabbar Raisani is a fantastic young director who is one to watch out for. The way he has put this film together is beyond phenomenal,” she said.
Freida’s upcoming projects include “Jungle Book: Origins” and “Yamasong: March of the Hollows”.
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.
Content provided by Adverloom