Huawei Technologies on Monday announced plams to debut its first PC in Japan, an ultracompetitive field that will test the Chinese company's ability to leverage its smartphone expertise and build a winning brand. While cellphones have been reborn as smartphones, PCs have not advanced in more than a decade, said Oliver Wu, head of Huawei Technologies Japan's devices segment. There is sizable opportunity to be found in making PCs as easy to use as smartphones, Wu said.

Huawei's opening shot is the MateBook, a 12-inch notebook whose touch screen and detachable keyboard enable it to double as a tablet. At around 640 grams and 6.9mm thick, the device includes a built-in fingerprint scanner and one of the industry's fastest unlocking times.

The entry-level MateBook is 69,800 yen ($680) plus tax -- around half the price of such rivals as Microsoft Surface hybrid notebooks.

Japanese makers are known for providing a high level of service by phone and through other means to customers who need help using or troubleshooting their devices. But this pushes up prices. One of Huawei's challenges will be to provide the best service it can while keeping prices low.

Top PC players in Japan are Lenovo, HP and Dell. Sony, Fujitsu and Toshiba have been pushed to restructure or leave.