Samsung unveils the Galaxy Tab 2: 7-inch and 10.1-inch models available from March

Despite the start of Mobile World Congress being all but a day away, Samsung has decided to officially announced the Galaxy Tab 2 and Galaxy Beam.

Misleadingly, the Galaxy Tab 2 will actually consist of two different machines, coming in at 7 and 10.1-inches.

Both models will come with the same dual-core 1Ghz processor at the heart of the device, but the larger model gets a larger 7,000mAh battery, presumably to keep a similar standby/usage time from the 1280x800 TFT screen.

If you’re sat there thinking this all sounds mighty familiar, that’s because the specs for 10.1-inch model of the Galaxy Tab 2 are pretty much identical to that of the previous Tab.

The only noticeable differences are that this new edition will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, and is 23 grams heavier.

Samsung also announced a new handset today, but it wasn’t the long-awaited Galaxy S III.

Instead, it’s the Galaxy Beam - a 1Ghz dual-core Android phone with a 15 lumens projector built-in. The projector is claimed to be able to display images up to 50” big, which is pretty impressive given that it’s managing to do this in a frame 12.5mm thick

Disappointingly, however, the Beam will initially launch with Android Gingerbread, rather than Ice Cream Sandwich.

Samsung makes no mention in the press release for the announcement whether an update will be on its way in the near future.

Both models of the Galaxy Tab 2 will arrive in the UK in March, while the Beam’s release date has not yet been confirmed.

We’ll have a hands-on with all three devices once Mobile World Congress kicks off properly from tomorrow.