Entertainment
Pakistani stars saddened by Sridevi’s death
New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) Pakistani stars like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mahira Khan and Ali Zafar on Sunday condoled the sudden demise of veteran actress Sridevi, saying that she will live in their hearts and memories forever.
“So grateful to have grown up and lived in the times of Sridevi. Thank you for the movies, thank you for the magic. You shall live on forever… Great artistes… we cry for them without ever really knowing them, we mourn them because they helped us know ourselves,” Mahira tweeted on Sunday.
People from across the globe started their Sunday on a sad note with the news of the sudden demise of cine icon Sridevi, 54, due to cardiac arrest in Dubai. She passed away on Saturday.
Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor’s cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.
Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who is facing a backlash for singing the song titled “Ishtehar” — a soulful rendition — for Indian film production “Welcome To New York”, also condoled her death.
“My condolences to Boney Kapoorji and the Kapoor family. Deeply saddened to lose an icon like Srideviji,” Rahat tweeted.
The actress is remembered for her performance is some of the iconic Bollywood films like “Mr. India”, “Nagina”, “Sadma”, “ChalBaaz”, “Chandni”, “Khuda Gawah”, among many others in different Indian languages.
The Padma Shri recipient, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with “English Vinglish” after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in “Mom” in 2017.
Her “Mom” co-star Sajal Aly also wrote: “Lost my mom again”.
Sajal was seen as her daughter in “Mom”.
Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui, who played her onscreen husband in “Mom”, wrote: “Life is so unpredictable. A lady with not just extreme talent but also a beautiful soul, Sri Devi Kapoor leaves us heavy hearted. So many memories attached while shooting ‘Mom’ with her, just a couple days back I met her at Boney Kapoor’s nephew’s wedding and who would have thought that it is the last time I am seeing her.
“I am still in a state of shock and out of words to describe my feeling! May her soul rest in eternal peace hereafter.”
Actor-singer Ali Zafar said: “You have left us with great memories of joy and tears.”
Sharing an image with the Indian actress on Instagram, Saba Qamar wrote: “R.I.P legend. We’ll miss you.”
Actor Imran Abbas was in shock.
“The ‘Sadma’ of losing this ultimate superstar is heart wrenching. Her smile, beauty, acting, aura and those ‘Nigahen’ will be missed forever,” wrote the actor, who has featured in Bollywood projects like “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” and “Creature”.
Mawra Hocane also said that Sridevi will “always have our hearts, grateful to have met the legend that you’ll always be”.
Her mortal remains are expected to be flown to Mumbai on a chartered flight on Sunday evening for the last rites but the timing had not been confirmed yet.
–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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