Thousands of companies and visitors are descending on the annual tech extravaganza in Hannover, Germany

Thousands of companies and visitors are descending on the annual tech extravaganza in Hannover, Germany. Among other things, they'll hear about tablet devices using Microsoft software and SAP's plans to get its applications on mobile devices. Microsoft on Wednesday added broader language support to its Smart Display and Tablet PC technologies and announced a manufacturing deal with Packard Bell. Packard Bell, NEC's consumer PC division, joins Samsung, ViewSonic and other display makers in manufacturing so-called smart displays. Packard Bell plans to start selling a 10-inch smart display in Europe by the end of the first half of the year. Microsoft has also greatly expanded language support for tablet PCs, with the beta release of Multilingual User Interface & Recognizer Pack (MUIRP). The final version is scheduled for July release. Smart Display-based and Tablet PC-based products let consumers and business people access information using a stylus instead of a keyboard and mouse, although there are major functionality differences between the two tabletlike devices. A smart display is a 10-inch or 15-inch detachable monitor running Microsoft's Windows CE for Smart Displays operating system. Once detached, the smart display connects back to the PC using 802.11 wireless networking for accessing e-mail, surfing the Web or reading documents. Content is accessed using a stylus. A tablet PC is a portable computer--typically in the shape of a writing slate--running Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. A tablet PC is a fully functioning computer that is accessed either by stylus or keyboard and mouse.