The Japanese unit of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. will enter the Japanese laptop market, starting with its hybrid Huawei MateBook laptop on July 15.
The domestic personal computer market has been shrinking amid the popularity of smartphones. "We want to bring about a new stage by using the know-how cultivated by the smartphone business," a Huawei official said.
Sales of the Huawei laptop are likely to intensify competition in the Japanese market in which Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are selling hybrid notebooks that can be used both as a tablet and a laptop.
The Huawei laptop is expected to sell for ¥75,384 for the basic model, while its detachable keyboard will go for ¥15,984 and a drawing pen will likely be priced at ¥8,424.