PCs Being Pushed Aside in Japan

By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press Wrier, Technology / Business

An IBM Japan, Ltd. Tokyo employee demonstrates the use of the black light-emitting diode, incorporated in a customized cell phone, to unveil IBM's technology: the Invisible Barcode Technology Electronic Clipping System, in which a cell phone's video camera scans an invisible ink barcode printed on regular paper, and translates it into an internet link or data code, at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in this Jan. 9, 2007, file photo. The PC's role in Japanese homes is diminishing, as its once-awesome monopoly on processing power is encroached by gadgets such as smart phones that act like pocket-size computers. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

(AP) -- Masaya Igarashi wants $200 headphones for his new iPod Touch, and he's torn between Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 game consoles. When he has saved up again, he plans to splurge on a digital camera or flat-screen TV. There's one conspicuous omission from the college student's shopping list: a new computer.

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