Entertainment
B-Town stars condemn Istanbul airport attack
Mumbai: “Tragic”, “heartbreaking”, “saddened” were some of the words that Bollywood stars like Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan and Huma Qureshi used to condemn the Istanbul airport attack. The stars urged the people of Istanbul to “stay strong”, adding that the world needs to stand united against terrorism.
An attack carried out by three suicide bombers on Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on Tuesday evening killed 36 people and injured over 145 others.
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, who will be debuting in Bollywood with “Raees”, also expressed shock over the incident.
Here’s what they tweeted:
Hrithik Roshan: Was helped by the kindest staff at Istanbul airport hours ago. Shocking news. Innocents killed for religion. We must stand united against terrorism. Missed connecting flight at Istanbul and were stuck at airport next flight was next day, but took economy and flew out earlier. #Prayers4istanbul
Abhishek Bachchan: Stay strong Istanbul. Thoughts and prayers with you.
Anupam Kher: #IstanbulAttack is again an act of cowardice by terrorists. My heart goes out to the innocent victims and their families. I pray for the injured.
Vivek Oberoi: Heartbreaking to see innocent people killed #IstanbulAttack terrorism is cowardly not heroic! Prayers for the lost souls and their families!
Huma Qureshi: Killing people is not part of any religion… With a heavy heart I pray for Istanbul .. #sehri #prayers #sad
Shekhar Kapur: Once again. Violence and Tears. And now just prayers. Tragic. How can killing innocents be part of any religion @Elif_Safak #istanbul
Lisa Ray: Terribly disturbed by the reports of yet another bomb and loss of life in an airport in #Turkey. We were not birthed to take lives #Humanity
Celina Jaitly: I transited through #Istanbul airport last month on my way to Miami to be honoured by @HMilkFoundation. Shocked to hear about terror attack
Ayushmann Khurrana: #Istanbul attack is again a recurring reminder that we need to do a lot to change this world. Reconciliation from local to global level.
Vivek Agnihotri: So so sad.
Esha Gupta: In the name of religion let’s take human live, duno which religion they follow. Rip #TurkeyAttack
Mahira Khan: Have run out of words to describe these continuous acts of hate.
Sophie Choudry: They target innocent lives and families yet again… Angry and saddened to hear about the terror attacks in Istanbul… All my prayers
Mallika Sherawat: Deeply saddened by news of yet another terror attack in Istanbul.
Shibani Dandekar: Feel like sending thoughts and prayers to families of terror attacks has become a part of life now and that makes me so sad #prayingforistanbul
Ashoke Pandit: Condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in this dastardly, inhuman attack. #RIP. #istanbulblast
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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