Entertainment
Hollywood star Vin Diesel and rapper Cardi B to appear in Fast and Furious 10
Hollywood star Vin Diesel, rapper and songwriter Cardi B, who recently appeared in `F9` are already set to return to the wildly popular action-film series in its next installment. People magazine reported that while talking to a news outlet about Cardi`s role of Leysa in `F9`, Diesel said, “We are very much excited to evolve her character and to expand it to the finale. She made it just in time. She came in Fast 9 just in time.”
Saying he`d “work with her any day,” director Justin Lin told the same outlet, “I love Cardi … she showed up and within a minute she`s part of the family. And I love how when I got together with her, her and Vin were talking about the character because she`s actually really embedded into the overall universe. She`s been around for a long time and this is just the first time we are seeing her, so I`m really excited to explore that character of her.”
`F9` is the `I Like It` hitmaker`s second film after 2019`s `Hustlers`, in which she starred as Diamond, alongside Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu. “I enjoy the checks,” she joked about acting on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2019.
Later that month, Diesel had shared the news that Cardi had joined `F9` in an Instagram video, in which he said, “I know I`m exhausted. I literally – we all gave every single thing we could for this movie. Put it all on the table. Put it all out there.”
“I`m tired. But I can`t wait. I ain`t gonna front, I think this is gonna be the best one,” the rapper added in agreement.
Cardi had previously opened up about her “powerful” and “strong” character in the film, saying in an on-set video shared to the franchise`s YouTube channel earlier this month that it was a no-brainer for her to sign on.
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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