Entertainment
Veteran singer Asha Bhosle turns 85 on her birthday today
Six decades, multiple generations, one voice. Asha Bhosle’s melodious songs over the years have unified music fans in India for years. Celebrities from various walks of life are grateful for the “magical” voice of the ‘melody queen’, who turned 85 on Saturday.
“Thank you to everyone who have sent their greetings to me today and especially Shankar Mahadevan who sang it on stage in Houston,” Bhosle tweeted.
The elegant singer is agile at 85.
Just last month, she visited the set of reality show “Dance Deewane”, and made for a memorable frame with actresses Kajol and Madhuri Dixit Nene. She also went to the set of “Dil Hai Hindustani 2”.
Bhosle is one of the most versatile singers to have been associated with Bollywood. From cabaret to ghazals – she has sung songs like “Jhumka gira re”, “Dum maro dum”, “Chura liya”, “Mehbooba mehbooba”, “Mera kuch saaman”, “Dil cheez kya hai” to “Prem mein tohre”. Also known for having crooned in multiple languages, she is unstoppable. At her age, she is still doing live performances.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju sent in wishes for her.
“Wishing the ‘Queen of Indipop’ Asha Bhosleji a very happy birthday! Ashaji, people of Arunachal Pradesh are grateful for your blissful visit and the opportunity to enjoy your magical voice,” Rijiju tweeted.
Madhuri tweeted: “Wishing you a very Happy Birthday Asha Bhosleji! You are truly a legend in every sense. It was wonderful meeting you. Now that you have my number, I look forward to seeing you more often. May you have a blessed year ahead!”
The official Twitter handle for Yash Raj Films, a banner for which Bhosle has sung several memorable songs, described her as “a singer who only weaves magic with her voice”.
Cricket star Sachin Tendulkar cited her hit song “Chura liya hai tumne jo dilko”, saying the song “has truly stolen hearts of all the music lovers”.
“May you continue to do so. Wishing you a very Happy 85th Birthday Asha Bhosle tai,” Tendulkar wrote.
Singer-composer Adnan Sami said: “Ashaji, yo”re simply the best! Love you to bits.”
Veteran actress Poonam Dhillon said Bhosle is “best” at everything.
“Not only as the best singer, but best in every role — mom, grandmom, friend, cook, family person and more! God bless you with best of health!”
T-Series head honcho Bhushan Kumar wished the songstress a “happy birthday”.
“Your heartwarming, melodious voice will always be revered. Wishing you a blessed year ahead,” he wrote.
Actress Shraddha Kapoor, who is also related to the singer, wrote: “Happiest 85th birthday to my dearest Asha Aai.”
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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