PC Makers Hopeful on Windows 8 Changes

　　With the PC industry in severe contraction, industry executives seem terribly relieved to have found some optimism to cling to.
　　PC makers in Asia say there is hope yet for Windows 8, the new operating system that even Microsoft Corp. has admitted hasn’t been a huge hit.
　　Industry executives say prices for Windows 8 devices are set to fall dramatically, and that Microsoft Corp. has listened to some of their gripes.
　　On Wednesday, executives at Taiwanese PC maker Acer Inc. –who have complained loudly and often about Microsoft’s Windows 8 strategy–said that Microsoft is becoming more “considerate” to its hardware partners, and has adopted their suggestions “at a high percentage.”
　　“When we were talking to Microsoft, our input to them is balance,” said Acer President Jim Wong. “The world in the next five years is not going 100 percent to touch. Although touch makes a lot of possibilities for PCs, you need to take care of the rest of the world that doesn’t need touch.”
　　Windows co-head Tami Reller has acknowledged there were hitches, and that the company is working on changing some software features. Although she didn’t confirm any specific changes, technology blogs are saying the new version could return to a more traditional appearance, such as the Start button possibly making a comeback.
　　Microsoft is also expanding to smaller tablets this year, in a quest to face off with popular small tablets like the iPad mini and Nexus 7.
　　But will it be enough to convince consumers?
　　Some traditional users may be relieved to see a more familiar interface. But Microsoft’s problem in the mobile sphere goes beyond the appearance, and primarily resides in the small number of apps, said Tracy Tsai, a consumer technology research analyst with Gartner in Taiwan.
　　“A main challenge for Microsoft is its number of apps is still limited compared to Google and Apple,” Ms. Tsai said. “More and more users are familiar with apps on their smartphones, and they would like to extend their use of these apps to their tablets.”
　　That will not be a quick fix for Microsoft, but a more immediate change is that Windows 8 devices are about to get much more price-competitive. The price premium of a Windows 8 tablet over an Android one is now at least $150. That gap could shrink to around $50 this year, putting sticker prices of Windows 8 tablets below $300, said Jerry Shen, chief executive of Taiwanese PC maker Asustek Computer Inc.
　　As the user base expands, more developers will be willing to make apps for Windows 8, Ms. Tsai notes.
　　Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said Microsoft’s willingness to change bodes well for the PC industry this year.
　　“In the past we consider they (Microsoft) live in heaven,” he quipped. “But now they go down to earth and they start to learn how people living on earth think.”