Securing Devices For Mobile Computing - Clayton Harrington42's blog

Generation today hardly rely on MCD or mobile computing devices. They use this in schools, workplace and almost everywhere. Most of these common devices are laptop computers or even notebook, smart phones with processing and storage features, personal digital assistant or we better known as PDA?s, iPods, and even a USB memory stick. We would always enjoy the luxury and advantage of using these gadgets but for some reason, bad guys exists who wants to stole our data?s, and even personal info?s. With this, there are ways and precautions on how to secure our mobile computing devices.

These security tips will protect our mobile computing devices against fraud and any other fraudulent activities. In every computers or laptops, make it sure that you keep the patches updated at all times. In this way, we can avoid to be compromised by any attackers, or any form of computer viruses or malwares. There are programs that you can use to have this updated automatically, or if you are not comfortable with the automatic update, you can have it set to alarm your system if update is available. A lot of vendors provide a program for notification whenever there is a malware attack or if your system needs to be updated. And always use a secure password to protect your system from any unauthorized use or access.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Mobile Computing now have at least a basic understanding. But there?s more to come.

This is just to make sure that nobody can access your system unless they have your password. However, this is not a guarantee that you can never be hacked if your system is password protected. There are a lot of trained hackers that can do the trick but if your system is protected, it would give them some time to do their thing until your system detects that there are incoming threats on your system. In some computers, it may have a fingerprint reader to protect your system to be accessed by anyone else except your own fingerprints. There are also locking device that is available for portable computers at low prices.

For your computer programs, make it sure that you have installed a personal firewall. It is strongly recommended that you use a personal firewall, this would make attackers job hard and time consuming. There are some systems where the firewall is automatically installed, or in some system, you just need to access and have it configured on the system?s preference menu. Network attack is very common nowadays since they always wanted to access somebody?s data or stole a file. You can avoid this attack if your personal firewall is installed, running, and configured appropriately.

When it comes to connection, wired or wireless, it is strongly recommended that the settings for security are set to a maximum level. You can have it access on your networks menu. Though wireless technology have been able to its maximum security, it is still best to be sensitive and not to easily accept any incoming wireless signals not unless a back up of a more secured encryption is being used. Encryption is the only to have your mobile computing devices secured.

You can?t predict when knowing something extra about Mobile Computing will come in handy. If you learned anything new about Mobile Computing in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, proud owner of this top ranked web hosting reseller site: GVO

Source: http://www.qtsites.com/mobile-computing/securing-devices-for-mobile-computing.htm

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Source: http://harrington42.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/securing-devices-for-mobile-computing.html

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WHO: 2 more cases of new virus in Jordan

LONDON (AP) ? International health officials have confirmed two more fatal cases of a mysterious respiratory virus in the Middle East.

The virus has so far sickened nine people and killed five of them. The new disease is a coronavirus related to SARS, which killed some 800 people in a global epidemic in 2003, and belongs to a family of viruses that most often causes the common cold.

The two cases date back to April and are part of a cluster of a dozen people, mostly health workers, who fell sick in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Zarqa, Jordan. Officials are investigating whether the 10 other people who grew sick in Zarqa also were infected and how the virus might have spread.

"It's too early to say whether human-to-human transmission occurred or not, but we certainly can't rule it out," said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl.

One of the Jordanian cases was a 40-year-old female. All of the other patients to date have been men. The new virus has so far been identified in patients from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Scientists haven't found any links between the sporadic cases of the coronavirus so far, first detected in September. "We don't know how the virus gets around and there are more questions than answers right now," Hartl said.

Several of the patients sickened by the new coronavirus have had rapid kidney failure and others have suffered severe pneumonia and respiratory illnesses. The virus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are also considering whether bats or animals like camels or goats are a possible source of infection.

Scientists are also considering whether fruit contaminated by animal droppings may have spread the virus.

Still, not all of the cases had contact with animals and WHO said it was possible the virus was spread between humans in the Jordan hospital and in a cluster of cases in Saudi Arabia, where four members of the same family fell ill and two died.

WHO says the virus is probably more widespread than just the Middle East and recommended that countries test any people with unexplained pneumonia.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-more-cases-virus-jordan-175506843.html

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UK gas trading probe could trigger new rules - EnergyUK's Knight

LONDON (Reuters) - A probe into possible price manipulation in Britain's gas market, Europe's largest, could result in tighter regulation of energy trading, Angela Knight, chief executive of the EnergyUK lobby group, said on Friday.

"We need to see whether there is any more that needs to be done so there's the proper regulation in place to secure confidence in the market," said Knight, who moved to EnergyUK in September after heading the British Bankers' Association (BBA).

Britain's financial and energy regulators announced this month that they were reviewing information received by a whistleblower claiming that traders had manipulated prices in Britain's gas market.

Knight said some of the price manipulation issues alleged in the case would be addressed by new EU rules being rolled out to prevent market abuse in electricity and gas markets, also known as REMIT.

Yet she said the case was also somewhat unusual as the whistleblower had refused the customary identity protection and opted to speak about the allegations in public.

He also approached the financial regulator rather than energy watchdog Ofgem.

"I think that has therefore made it quite difficult for our authorities (...) The fairness about the British system is you aren't found guilty until the work has been done to determine whether you are guilty," Knight said.

Ofgem has often been accused of lacking prosecution powers compared with other regulators, but Knight said the energy watchdog had been keeping a close eye on unusual trading.

ENERGY LIKE BANKING

Knight, who spent five years at the helm of the bankers association, likened the energy market to the banking sector in that both sectors are going through major change.

Britain's banking sector is facing growing scrutiny on the back of the financial crisis and the energy market is set to be overhauled to encourage more low-carbon power generation.

"There are some evident parallels in that these are large important industries for the UK economy," said Knight, whose role it was to defend the banking sector at a time when it was widely blamed for causing global financial meltdown.

In her new role Knight said it was part of her job to restore reputation of energy companies which are often criticised for pocketing hefty profits for electricity and gas supply.

"A lot of the good can be completely sidelined by a small amount of the bad and I think that's a shame," Knight said, adding that EnergyUK was considering launching a public campaign to raise the profile of energy companies.

"If we're going to have that honest discussion with our customers, it has to be the industry, regulators, policymakers and the media, too, to find a way to explain which doesn't end up in finger pointing."

(Editing by Jason Neely)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-gas-trading-probe-could-trigger-rules-energyuks-164102362.html

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ANALYSIS: Egyptians warn Morsi is no friend of US

AFP / Getty Images

An Egyptian man delivers a speech as protesters gather in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on Friday to protest against a decree by President Mohammed Morsi granting himself broad powers that shield his decisions from judicial review.

By Richard Engel, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent

News Analysis

TAHRIR SQUARE, CAIRO -- This was the place where the revolution began: the roundish square where Egyptians celebrated Mubarak's fall.

This is where they are shouting on bullhorns again, outraged because they say the Muslim Brotherhood has stolen the revolution and is railroading though a constitution that could lock in Muslim Brotherhood rule for 50 years, bringing more Islamic law. They cry -- not against Islam -- but that an extremist interpretation is being forced down their throats by a president who critics say is acting every part the tyrant. ?

This is also a warning, they claim, of what may happen across the Middle East. The era of the Muslim?Brotherhood appears to have arrived. President Obama has hailed the Brotherhood's President Mohammed Morsi as a pragmatist who helped end the Gaza crisis. Egyptians here think the Brotherhood has conned Washington, just like it conned them.

Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

"President?Obama is supporting a terrorist," a man told me amid chants of "Leave! Leave!" in Tahrir Square and "Down, down with the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader." Before, it was "Down, down with Mubarak."


Morsi's decree divides Egypt
Egypt was torn in half just over a week ago when Morsi made himself more powerful than Mubarak ever was, and the kings before him. Morsi declared himself above judicial oversight, his decisions final and unassailable. He made himself, according to critics, a new pharaoh on the Nile. Imagine if, after five months in office, an American president announced that he could pass any law he pleased regardless of Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court. Imagine if he said his decisions were final and inspired by God.

After issuing a decree making himself more powerful than the courts, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has sparked a wave of anger ? some of which is directed toward the United States. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

Morsi last night apologized for the power grab and said he didn't want the extra authorities, but that they were necessary for the good of the people and to safeguard the revolution. Dictators always say stuff like that. Burn down the village to save it.

At first Egyptians were shocked that Morsi would make such an obvious and, according to Egyptian judges, blatantly illegal move. It's clear now, as some analysts have long feared, that the brotherhood is making sure it doesn't lose power again by taking control of Egypt's constitution. The Brotherhood wants to write the rules of the game. Now they've done that too.

PhotoBlog: Dueling demonstrations in Cairo

Protected by the president's new-found supreme and unquestionable powers, Morsi ordered his Islamist allies to finish writing the constitution and get it on his desk by the end of this week. They did it, even though many independent legal experts, Christians and opposition politicians boycotted the drafting process. The Brotherhood called the new constitution "a jewel." Many Egyptians say it leaves too much room for the implementation of Shariah law. ?

The constitution also empowers the people and government with a duty to uphold moral values, a vague clause that could pave the way for vigilante morality police. The constitution barely mentions protecting women's rights. According to women who were originally involved in the drafting process, and who subsequently left because they felt they were being ignored, clauses specifically demanding that women be protected from violence and sex trafficking were dropped because Islamists feared it would conflict with their desire to allow child brides.

ANALYSIS: Crisis tests Egyptians' constitution

The constitution has long been the Muslim Brotherhood's lodestar and, in the past, they have been willing the kill for it. In 1954, not long after a group of 'free officers' carried out a coup against the British-backed monarchy, a Brotherhood assassin tried to kill President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser, a leading free officer, favored a mostly secular, pro-military constitution. The Brotherhood, an Islamist group that supports the return of Arab and Islamic unity and the revival of ancient Muslim glory and Shariah laws, couldn't accept the new rules.

Ahmed Youssef / EPA

18 days of popular protest culminated in the downfall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011.

The Brotherhood's assassination attempt failed. The gunman's eight bullets, fired while Nasser was giving a speech in Alexandria, all missed. The Brotherhood was banned. The group went underground, at times tolerated but more often repressed by Nasser's successors: presidents Mubarak and Anwar el-Sadat. When the revolts started against Mubarak, the Brotherhood saw that fate had given them another chance.

Muslim Brotherhood's calculated rise to power
Looking back now, it all seems so obvious, yet many Egyptians refused to see it coming. In fact, many of the secular revolutionaries backed the Brotherhood, arguing they were better allies than the hated military. The Brotherhood played its cards well.

The Brotherhood was late to join the anti-Mubarak revolts in 2011. When students and liberals initially occupied Tahrir Square, it looked like it might be a passing thing. The Brotherhood either didn't appreciate its significance, or wanted to wait to see who was winning.

I remember watching the Brothers march into the square. They arrived in a large group of perhaps five hundred. Nearly all were men. Many had beards. Most were dressed in poorly cut dark suits. They occupied a corner of Tahrir near a Kentucky Fried Chicken. They came with microphones and wood to build a platform. The other protesters in the square seemed happy to have the support of the new arrivals.

Egypt's Morsi, top judges compromise to defuse soaring tensions over decree

The protests continued to grow. Labor unions went on strike. The military enacted a coup against Mubarak. President Obama withdrew his support for Washington's long-time Arab friend. And Mubarak the president was no more.

The Brotherhood first said it wouldn't seek the new presidency at all. It promised to exist solely as an influential member of civil society. Back then, many Egyptians feared the Brotherhood. It was a semi-secret group. It had a small office in a Cairo apartment building with a sign on the door the size of an index card. Mubarak-era officials had often described the Brotherhood as a group of terrorists. One security official I know called the Brotherhood the most dangerous group in the world. But in the heady 1960s-like days after Mubarak's resignation, the Brotherhood's bad reputation only seemed to give the group more credibility. They'd been oppressed by the man. It was a new day. Everyone, it appeared, deserved a new beginning.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square Friday to denounce Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi and the draft constitution his Islamic allies approved earlier in the day.

The Brotherhood went to work. It organized its considerable finances. It built a big new headquarters with far bigger signs on the doors. It sent its representatives around the world, especially to Washington, on a charm offensive. We've been oppressed, they claimed. We were slandered by a tyrant. We're not what you've heard. We can unite the Sunni world against Iran. We can help bring Israeli-Palestinian peace. There were many promises of a great future.

Even then, the Brotherhood's focus on the constitution was clear. The Brotherhood insisted the constitution be drafted only after a new president was elected. The military was overseeing a transition back then. The Brotherhood argued that the military couldn't be trusted to oversee the creation of such an important document. Many Egyptians agreed -- a decision some sorely regret today.

NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin discusses the current unrest in Egypt

Morsi won the election by a narrow margin and then five months into his term, made himself a dictator and ordered his Islamist friends to quickly finish the constitution. Morsi has said he'll drop his extraordinary powers as soon as the constitution is approved in a referendum in December. Islamists are convinced they'll be able to use their grassroots network of activists to win the referendum like they won the elections. Western diplomats tend to agree.

Yet the United States has remained mostly silent on all this, urging both sides to stay calm and work it out. Washington's policy seems to be that what's going on is simply democracy in progress as Egyptians learn to use their new rights.

But in Tahrir Square people seem convinced the Brotherhood isn't testing its fledgling wings. They say Morsi knows exactly what he's doing, Washington be warned.?

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/01/15578733-egyptians-fear-decades-of-muslim-brotherhood-rule-warn-morsi-is-no-friend-to-us?lite

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Surface Pro: Heart of a PC, body of a tablet, price tag of a Mac

The Microsoft Surface Pro tablet will debut in January, Microsoft reps confirmed today.?

By Matthew Shaer / November 29, 2012

The Microsoft Surface Pro tablet.

Microsoft

Enlarge

Microsoft announced the sales price and launch window for the Surface Pro, the latest addition to the Surface tablet line.?

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According to Microsoft, the Surface Pro ? actual name:?Surface with Windows 8 Pro ? will retail at two price points: $899 for a 64 GB model and $999 for a 128 GB edition. (Want the Touch Cover keyboard? You'll have to buy it separately.) The device, which is intended for IT professionals and design types, should arrive in early January ? too late, it's worth noting, to really capitalize on the holiday shopping rush.?

"Surface with Windows 8 Pro will come with Intel?s next generation Core i5 processor," Microsoft's Panos Panoy wrote in a blog post today. "This chip will give Surface with Windows 8 Pro a graphics boost for its 10.6-inch 16:9 ClearType display that runs at a 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution. Surface with Windows 8 Pro also includes a full-size USB 3.0 port. Its Mini DisplayPort can drive an external display up to 2560 x 1440 resolution."?

The big question here, of course, is whether the hefty price on the deluxe Surface device will scare away prospective users. Even the base-level Surface, which sells for $499 without the Touch Cover, struck some onlookers as a little too expensive, especially since most people do want the $120 Touch Cover ? that nifty little add-on is a big selling point for the Surface.?

But as we noted above, the Surface Pro is really a device for business users, for whom power and capability are more important than price.

"This is an enterprise play, not a consumer play, at least for now,"?Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner, told Matt Hamblen of Computerworld today.?

In related news, Microsoft recently announced it has sold 40 million licenses for Windows 8 since the October launch of the new operating system. But as John P. Mello Jr. of PC World notes, there's plenty of disagreement about whether that figure is good news for Microsoft or not. Some onlookers, for instance, are?saying that the "disappointing" numbers actually fell well below internal Microsoft projections.

For?more tech news, follow us on?Twitter @venturenaut.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/y6jXu9jBa1c/Surface-Pro-Heart-of-a-PC-body-of-a-tablet-price-tag-of-a-Mac

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AstraZeneca heart drug wins approval in China

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has won approval for its new heart drug Brilinta in China, an increasingly important market for the British pharmaceuticals group.

China's State Food and Drug Administration has issued an drug import license for the product, meaning it will now be available for treating patients with acute coronary syndrome in the country, the company said on Thursday.

Brilinta has proved better than the cheaper generic medicine clopidogrel in preventing the recurrence of heart attacks, but its sales to date in markets around the world have been disappointing.

Revitalizing the product is an early priority for new Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, who said last month that Brilinta could do "far better".

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/astrazeneca-heart-drug-wins-approval-china-111110228--finance.html

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New York nanny pleads not guilty in deaths of two kids

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York nanny accused of the stabbing deaths of two young children pleaded not guilty to murder charges Wednesday in a judicial proceeding conducted in the hospital where the 50-year-old woman is handcuffed to her bed as she recovers from self-inflicted wounds.

Yoselyn Ortega was indicted two weeks ago on two counts each of first- and second-degree murder in the killings of Lucia Krim, 6, and her brother, Leo, who was days shy of his second birthday, in their parents' luxury apartment.

Ortega was under a white blanket, handcuffed to her hospital bed and wearing a blue hair net, according to a pool report of the proceeding at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She appeared alert but did not speak during the 10-minute proceeding.

Ortega's attorney, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, entered the plea on her behalf, the pool report said. Judge Lewis Bart Stone ordered Ortega held without bail while she undergoes a psychiatric exam. The next court date was set for January 16.

Ortega has been in the hospital since October 25, recovering from what police have described as stab wounds she inflicted on herself at the scene of the murders.

The children's mother, Marina Krim, discovered their bodies in the bathtub when she returned to their Upper West Side home from a swimming lesson with a third child, police have said. Ortega then began to stab herself in front of Krim.

"Yoselyn Ortega is charged with taking the lives of two innocent children who were incapable of defending themselves," New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "This crime shocked and horrified parents around the city, many of whom entrust their children to the care of others both by necessity and by choice."

Ortega was formally arrested earlier this month after police interviewed her for the first time in her hospital room.

Ortega had been employed by the Krim family for two years, police said. She lived with her son and sister near the Krims' apartment off Central Park and has been a naturalized U.S. citizen for a decade.

Marina Krim had expected to meet Ortega and the two children at a dance studio on the day of the killings. Upon finding the lights out in the apartment, Marina Krim asked the doorman if Ortega had taken the kids out, police said.

Krim then re-entered the home and found the children in the bathroom before encountering Ortega.

(From pool and staff reports; Writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-nanny-pleads-not-guilty-deaths-two-kids-160217528--finance.html

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ICCBN 2013 : 2013 2nd International Conference on - WikiCFP

2013 2nd International Conference on Communication and Broadband Networking (ICCBN 2013)
Chennai, India
http://www.iccbn.org/

? Optical Communications and Networking

? Network Security

? Cognitive Radio Networks

? Internet Applications

? Protocols and Algorithms

? Coding Theory

? 3G & 4G Mobile Communication Services

? Communication Systems and Networks

? Data Warehousing, Ontologies and Databases

? On chip Networks

All papers for the ICCBN 2013 will be published in the Journal of Future Computer and Communication (IJFCC, ISSN: 2010-3751) as one volume, and will be included in the Engineering & Technology Digital Library, and indexed by EBSCO, CROSS REF, WorldCat, Google Scholar, and sent to be reviewed by Ei Compendex and ISI Proceedings.

SUBMISSION METHODS:

1. http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iccbn2013; ( .pdf)

If you can't login the submission system, please try to submit through method 2.

2. Email: iccbn@iacsit.org ( .pdf and .doc)

Source: http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/servlet/event.showcfp?eventid=27221©ownerid=13881

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Pitch ? The road ahead for Compact SUV market in India

With the advent of vehicles like Mahindra Quanto, Premier Rio and Renault Duster launched in the country, the Compact SUV market is making a name for itself with more and more consumers moving towards this segment. Claiming to give an experience of both the worlds; a compact premium hatchback and an entry level sedan, the makers of these SUVs are pitching the product to appeal to a younger, professional and lifestyle oriented users. Why is India late in bringing this segment on road? And what is the future? Pitch finds out.

Vivek Nayer, CMO, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra

Vivek Nayer, CMO, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra

According to Vivek Nayer, CMO, Automotive Division, Mahindra and Mahindra, the brand that launched Quanto two months back, says that Mahindra is trying to create a new segment as the market for compact SUV was non-existent in India. He explains that this segment will appeal to hatchback owners, entry level sedan owners and SUV owners as well. There are areas and scope for improvement in each of these segments. For example, he says hatchbacks are compact, have decent mileage and have easy manoeuvrability but do not have the presence, high ground clearance or the space of an SUV. ?We believe that the compact SUV is the best of both worlds, it allows the user to get the feel of both the worlds. It is compact from the outside, easy to manoeuvre in the city, and at the same time spacious from the inside,? adds Nayer.

Change to compact
Umang kumar, Co-Founder and CEO Gaadi.com affirms that the segment has gained popularity, but only over the past few years in India. ?People in India now indulge in more outdoor activities compared to the past. This is the result of growing disposable income. For an average Indian family, a compact SUV makes sense because for its optimal proportions, practicality, usability, fuel economy and cost of ownership,? he adds.

But why are home grown brands coming out with compact SUVs now? Auto makers like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have been making entry-level SUVs in the past. According to Kumar these products lacked the comfort and feel of the modern family cars and, hence, became more popular with cab operators instead. ?The compact SUV segment, which since the launch of the Renault Duster and Mahindra Quanto, has given the buyer an option of well-packaged, practical utility vehicle with a character of its own. Next up will be the Ford EcoSport while, Tata Motors is also thinking of a compact Aria,? he says.

This has been pushed further with the growing popularity of Utility Vehicles in the country as data suggests. According to reports from SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), sales of Utility Vehicles grew by 55.83 per cent during April-September 2012 and 60.54 per cent during April-October 2012 as compared to the same period last year. April-October 2011 recoded domestic sales of 1,92,591 vehicles in the Utility Vehicle segment, while in 2012 it is 3,09,180 units.

Market evolution
Has the market evolved? No says Nayer, he adds that Mahindra is evolving the market. With the introduction of the Compact SUV Quanto, Mahindra claims to appeal to a wider audience and hopes to draw volumes from all the three segments, which includes SUVs, hatchbacks and sedans.

He believes that if all three segments are put together the market size is of one lakh vehicles per month. He says that the premium hatchback market size is 40,000 a month, entry level sedans size is 20,000 a month and SUV is another 40,000 a month. ?We are talking about a 90,000 plus market size out of which Quanto will get a share, as we have a production size of 2,500.

But is it true that models based on proven and global platforms are the way forward to build mass volumes in the country? Nayer says that internationally the ratio between cars to SUV in many markets like Malaysia and Europe are 40:60, 40 per cent SUV and 60 per cent car. ?In India the ratio is half of that, which is around 20 per cent. We believe that in time, the kind of offering we are giving to the consumers and as lifestyle, aspiration and standards of living improve, people will buy more and more SUV kind of products, which appeal to their needs,? he adds, citing at the Quanto.

According to a survey by Gaadi.com, the share of voice for compact SUVs is 36 per cent compared to others which stands at 64 per cent. Indexed Data show that Mahindra Quanto in the period from 16th October to 15th November got a score of 16 out of 100 in terms of share of voice, followed by Tata Safari at 15, and Renault Duster at 11.

Is price the only factor?
The Quanto stars at Rs 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes to Rs 7.5 lakh (ex showroom), while Maruti Ertiga starts at Rs 7.3 lakh (ex-showroom) for diesel, and Nissan Duster starts above Rs 8.1 lakh (ex-showroom). Is pricing the only factor that is driving the sales? And does this segment hold enough market share to drive volume buys? Gaadi.com?s Kumar cites figures from his company?s report, which says that the sales figures of October 2012 show that SUVs comprised 8 per cent of the total cars sold during the month. He adds, ?The newest addition to the compact SUV segment the Quanto, the sales of which slowly seem to be gaining momentum. Sales of the car increased by over 40 per cent month on month (m-o-m) post its launch in September 2012. The number Renault Dusters sold also increased by 28 per cent m-o-m.?

If the sales are steady and there is enough hype in this segment, then why is India opening up so late for the compact SUV segment? Nayer says that there are two reasons, internationally the SUV to car ratio is 40:60, because the per capita income is higher and the lifestyle is different.?That kind of lifestyle aspiration has recently come to India. In our country SUVs are bought only for utility purpose but of late people have started buying SUV for lifestyle purposes,? Nayer adds.

Murad Ali Baig, Auto expert

Murad Ali Baig, Auto expert

Murad Ali Baig, Auto Expert, says that, SUV today is a bit of a misnomer as the buyers are not into serious off-roading. He adds, ?They just buy something that looks like an SUV, which gives them that macho feel.? With the rising tide of the compact SUV market, Baig explicates that what the market is seeing is not compact SUVs but low cost SUVs. ?Therefore, the new cars like Renault Duster and some of the other cars are low cost vehicles and they give you a sense of an SUV but they are actually have limited real SUV capabilities. They are not proper off-roaders they are two wheel drives,? he further adds.

Urban cowboy or rugged terrain?
But is the retail strategy of foreign brands enough to counter the home grown brands in terms of the compact SUV market? Kumar says that, product marketing is one thing but, experiencing the product first hand can make or break a deal. As buyers become more educated about quality, driving dynamics, features and safety, it?s a never-ending fight between indigenous car makers and foreign brands. ?The strategy adopted by Indian car makers is to provide a car with a whole lot more features while pricing it low. The multi-nationals on the other hand offer better build quality, safety features and the likes,? he adds. The figures in the past couple of months according to Gaadi.com seem to be moving in a positive direction. According to the site, customers have welcomed the new compact SUV segment. More players like Ford with EcoSport and Tata Motors with Compact Aria, are expected to jump in the fray. Also according to the site, in terms of share of voice, 30 out of the 100 people who searched for SUVs showed interest in a compact SUV.

What then could be the possible challenges both home grown brands and foreign brands could face in the market? Kumar says that, when a manufacturer has a compact SUV under its portfolio the biggest challenge for any manufacturer is keeping the manufacturing costs in check. ?In a competitive scenario like India, pricing is crucial. Most local brands are able to offer their cars at a low price thanks to the localisation that goes into making them. A well spread dealer network also plays an important role when it comes to market penetration. Secondly, maintaining a set quality standard is as crucial as the pricing. The buyers have become more aware of safety features and overall build quality,? he adds.

With more than 15,25,488 passenger vehicles sold in April-October 2012 (SIAM), which also includes utility vehicles, compact or not, consumers are still having a tough time manoeuvring during peak hours. Will the Compact SUVs only bring a sense of ?presence? or ?machoism? on the streets or will they really help to cut through the tough traffic with space and ease? Only time will tell.

Source: http://pitchonnet.com/blog/2012/11/28/the-road-ahead-for-compact-suv-market-in-india/

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