Entertainment
National Awards are only relevant awards left today: Kabir Khan
New Delhi: Filmmaker Kabir Khan, whose 2015 blockbuster film “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” has been honoured with a National Award, says it is the “only relevant” award left in the country which recognises content-oriented films.
“Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, which stars Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the lead, was named the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 63rd National Awards announcement here on Monday.
“I’m very happy for getting my second National Award after ‘Kabul Express’. National Awards are the only relevant awards left today in the country,” Kabir told IANS over phone.
“’Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is a film which has got a lot of love since its release. It’s a film that talks about love and overcoming boundaries between communities. For a film like this to get box office success and a National Award makes a perfect combination,” he added.
Sharing his experience of working with the “Dabangg” star, Kabir, who earlier worked with Salman in “Ek Tha Tiger”, said: “We (Salman and I) do make a good team and we are very much comfortable working with each other.
“The fact that ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ got wild at box office as it did, is mainly because of Salman Khan in it, and that’s the power of mainstream cinema.”
The movie delves into the story of a simpleton named Bajrangi (Salman), who embarks on a journey to take a mute six-year-old Pakistani girl (Harshaali Malhotra) separated in India from her mother, back to her hometown in Pakistan.
An emotional and touching drama, the movie had touched the right chords with audiences on both sides of the border upon its release.
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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