Vuclip portal  Mira
By Asha

Vuclip, one of the world’s largest independent mobile video destinations, has launched  mobile portal, Mira!, designed to appeal to the new age Indian women who are independent and tech savvy. Mira! draws quality content from almost 30 leading content providers in India and globally to offer free access to the best videos that cater to a woman’s needs, all within the comfort of her own mobile handset, anywhere, anytime. It features video content relating to health, beauty, fashion and style tips, parenting, cooking recipes, career, entertainment, celeb-speak, astrology and more.

This women’s mobile video channel can be accessed from virtually any internet-enabled mobile phone from a range of over 5500 different handsets including the most basic feature phones to sophisticated smart phones.

Launching the first mobile video channel for women, Mira!, Chief Guest Prof. Kiran Walia, Women Development Minister for India’s national capital territory of Delhi, said, “Mobile phones are emerging as an economical tool for accelerating mass-scale development of women. These days, mobile offers a very affordable and easy to use means to even access internet as compared to computer and other devices, and can be used by a much larger section of women in the society. Studies show that the mobile phone has helped women feel safer, more independent and connected, and has opened new professional avenues and income sources for women. As India’s first mobile video channel for women, I hope that this initiative will help boost mobile adoption among women, and will encourage the creation of more women-oriented mobile content.”

A report by the Cherie Blair Foundation and GSMA Development Fund on the mobile phone gender gap in low and middle-income countries had found that mobile penetration among women in India is only about 28% as compared to 40% among men.

Vuclip also unveiled the findings of its global survey in which almost 40,000 women users participated from 176 countries, including nearly 13,000 women from India. Conducted over just five days, the survey found that besides voice and text, 60% of Indian women respondents use their handsets as a primary source of entertainment. As many as 80% of the respondents reported steady increase in their time spent on mobile-viewing. Besides movies and music, Indian women also loved watching TV soaps, cute/funny videos, sports, home and lifestyle, news, celeb gossip and amazing/whacky videos on their mobile. Women aged 18-35 years comprised 65% of the Indian respondents, while 24% were under 18 years and another 11% were over 36 years.