Entertainment
‘Understand ‘PK’ context before commenting’
Kolkata: With Aamir Khan-starrer “PK” facing protests from Hindu rightwing groups alleging that it defames Hindu religion, a religious leader Friday said one must first examine the context of the film before making accusations.
“We must be very sensitive anyway in a right way, first of all, to not give any cause for such a controversy.
“Secondly, we must understand the context… maybe it wasn’t an insult at all. In what context those words were used… these must be clarified,” Archbishop of Calcutta Thomas D’Souza told IANS here but added he has not himself watched the film yet.
Producers, directors and actors as well as movie buffs were unanimous that the Hindi film no way hurt Hindu interests and that the protests were unacceptable as it had cleared the censors.
But the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) reiterated its demand that the film, one of the biggest hits from Bollywood, be banned or at least what it said were the offending parts be deleted immediately.
D’Souza was attending the “Sab Dharm Sammelan” at the Muslim Institute here where representatives of all major religions gathered to discuss the formation of a “Religion Parliament” that would deal with religious matters and controversies.
Quizzed on the debate surrounding “PK”, Shamim Ahmed, national president (India) and international convener, Human Rights Protection Association said religious leaders could watch the movie and decide for themselves.
“Let the religious leaders watch it and if they feel it is wrong then there should be prohibitions and if it is all right then it should be allowed to run,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed said controversies like ‘ghar wapsi’ should be ignored.
“We are not giving it any importance. Isko uchaalne ki zarurat nahi hai (there is no need to discuss it)… those who feel they are Hindus or Muslims in their heart will follow that religion,” he said.
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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