Innovations in mobile and wireless computing targeted at making workers more productive and management easier will be introduced at this week's DemoMobile  show.

The event includes presentations by newly minted venture start-ups and established companies such as France Telecom, HP, Microsoft and Qualcomm . The annual show is organized by IDG Executive Forums, which is part of Network World.

While many of the products are practical, no-nonsense software tools designed to enhance the usefulness of existing wireless and mobile networks, if you're looking for the latest in dazzling hardware, you won't be disappointed, either.

Here's a sampling of some hot products that will take center stage this week:

Vendor: AirPrism
Product: Mobile Device Management Suite

This client-server software lets network managers reach out over cellular, dialup or wireless LAN (WLAN) networks and get a grip on laptops, PDAs and other handhelds - all those devices that are crammed with your precious corporate data and applications.

The AirPrism Agent runs on the mobile device. It reads registry settings, power and battery settings, and identifies applications and their versions, in order to build a detailed profile of the device.

That data is stored on the AirPrism Server. When the agent connects, the server runs a series of tests, compares settings and software on the device with those in a database of profiles, and updates them as needed. For example, if the battery on a smartphone goes dead, wiping the memory clean, AirPrism can download the software stack and reconfigure the handset.

The software is in beta test. Shipments will begin "shortly," according to the Redwood Shores, Calif., company. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Vendor: Antelope Technologies
Product: Mobile Computer Core

Picture a PC as a plastic block the size of your hand, weighing 9 ounces.

That, more or less, is the Modular Computing Core, created at IBM's Watson Research labs and licensed to Antelope, which was created to bring the MCC to market.

The slender block, only three-quarters of an inch thick, holds a low-wattage Transmeta CPU, on a multi-layered mini-board, internal battery, RAM, a 5G- or 15G-byte Toshiba mini hard drive with the entire Windows XP professional software stack and your applications.

Missing are the standard power supply, the display and I/O connectors. Most of these now become optional, plug-in accessories. There's a desktop cradle into which you plug a keyboard, a mouse and a display.

There's also a plastic sleeve to turn the core into a handheld PDA, with slots for PC-card-based accessories, such as an 802.11 WLAN network interface card, and two USB ports. The company says more stuff will be added later.

Currently, the MCC sells as part of an evaluation kit, which includes the core, the desktop cradle and accessories, PDA sleeve and other items for $3,970. You decide what you want, how many you want, take a volume discount and impress the heck out of your colleagues.