Entertainment
Varun Dhawan to get his first Madame Tussauds wax figure
Hong Kong, Oct 16 (IANS) Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan’s first ever wax figure will be the fourth from India to join Madame Tussauds Hong Kong with those of Mahatma Gandhi, Narendra Modi and Amitabh Bachchan currently on display. He will unveil it in the first quarter of 2018.
“Huge honour. Can’t wait to come there and stare down my wax figure. Thank you,” Varun tweeted on Monday.
Varun, who made his acting debut in the 2012 romantic comedy “Student of the Year”, has also starred in “Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania”, “ABCD 2”, “Main Tera Hero”, “Badrinath Ki Dulhania” and most recently in “Judwaa 2”.
He was invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be part of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
“It was a great experience to work with Madame Tussauds. I am so excited to get my wax figure in Hong Kong,” the actor said in a statement on Madame Tussauds’ official website.
A group of skilled Madame Tussauds sculpting team specially travelled to Mumbai to meet Varun and conduct a detailed sitting process. More than 200 measurements were taken, the team also matched the hair and eye colour of the actor. Varun also worked closely with the team and kept sharing his ideas on the pose of the figure.
Jenny You, General Manager of Madame Tussauds, Hong Kong, said: “Varun Dhawan is one of the most requested figures and we are delighted to be partnering with this Bollywood great actor. Hong Kong is a multicultural metropolis which makes us a unique brand.
“Visitors can meet both Hollywood, Asian and also Bollywood stars here at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. The worldwide popularity of Bollywood films makes people in Hong Kong increasingly embrace Bollywood culture.
“Besides, India is the fourth largest ethnic group in Hong Kong. As the first youngest Indian Bollywood actor to be waxed, we are confident that Varun’s figure will bring visitors an all-new experience.”
–IANS
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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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