Microsoft, partners to make 'Mira' available Microsoft and its hardware partners will use the giant CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany , in March to announce availability of the first Smart Displays in Europe, the companies said.Known formerly by the code name Mira, Smart Displays give users access to their PC through a touch-screen display that can be carried about the home. The display communicates with a PC using the 802.11b wireless LAN (WLAN) networking standard and allows users to read e-mail, surf the Web and use other applications as if they were sitting at the PC.Smart Displays from ViewSonic and Philips Consumer Electronics will go on sale in the U.K. , France and Germany around March 12, when CeBIT opens its doors in Hanover , the companies said last week. The products mirror those announced for the U.S. market earlier this month. ViewSonic will offer two displays, the airpanel V110, which has a 10-inch screen, and the airpanel V150, which has a 15-inch screen. The products come with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) WLAN adapter, which connects to the PC and allows it to communicate with the wireless display, and an upgrade to Windows XP Professional Edition, which is required for using a Smart Display.Prices for Europe weren’t immediately available, but in the U.S. the V110 is priced at $999 and the V150 at $1,299Philips will offer a single model, the DesXcape 150DM. Its 15-inch display is slightly thinner than ViewSonic’s and can serve as a user’s primary monitor when it is placed in a docking station, the company said. The 150DM is priced in the U.S. at $1,499, where for a limited time it comes with a wireless keyboard. Even as its partners put their products on sale Microsoft is preparing an upgrade to Windows Powered Smart Display, the software that runs on the devices. Enhancements will include the ability to stream video to the displays; Microsoft has admitted that the quality of video playback is poor with the first iteration of products. Technology Industry