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Trials of indigenised howitzer to continue till early 2016

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New Delhi: The indigenised and advanced version of the Bofors 155mm howitzer is headed for more trials before it is finally inducted in the Indian Army, informed sources said.

The sources told IANS the 155/45mm calibre Dhanush gun, which was found satisfactory in the trials last year, is now undergoing confirmatory trials which are likely to end by early 2016. The Dhanush is a modified version of the Bofors howitzers that India bought in the mid-1980s. It underwent winter trial in 2013-14 and summer trials in 2014.

While the trials were satisfactory, the army suggested some minor changes, an official said.

“The trials were largely satisfactory. But there were minor things pointed out that would make the gun more suitable for the army’s use,” a senior officer told on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“The changes have been made, and summer trials are on,” the official said, adding that the winter trials will also be repeated.

Equipment like artillery guns undergo different trials, including that for extreme climates and altitude, with India home to both high mountains and deserts along its borders with China and Pakistan.

The official said once all user trials are complete, the army will initially induct 114 guns.

The order is expected to be valued at around Rs. 1,260 crore (close to $200 million)and the guns are expected to be manufactured by Jabalpur’s Gun Carriage Factory.

The Dhanush prototype suffered a barrel burst during firing trials at Pokhran last August.

An officer, however, said the fault lay not in the gun but in the ammunition.

The blueprints for the Bofors gun were were provided by the Swedish company to India as part of the purchase of 410 FH-77 howitzers in 1986.

The modifications include an auxiliary power unit and electronic sights.

The Indian Army has not acquired artillery guns in the almost three decades since 1986.

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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

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.

CasinoDays India

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.

 

CasinoDays India

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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