Hit by steeply falling prices of flat-panel televisions, struggling Japanese electronics companies appear hopeful that Microsoft Corp.'s just-launched Windows 8 operating software will boost demand for personal computers.
But they face a tough road ahead, as public interest in the new operating system is apparently waning with consumers' attention shifting toward portable devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, which are also very competitively priced.
The Windows 8 software is compatible for both personal computers and tablet devices, a feature some analysts believe to be epoch-making.