Pocket Picks round-up: March 2nd - iPad 3 launching next week, Samsung Galaxy Beam projector phone announced, Siri to work in Mercedes Benz motors

Welcome, dear reader, to another instalment of the weekly Pocket Picks round-up. Put your phone on silent, set your Skype status to 'busy', and activate that out of office reply, 'cause this one's a doozy.

I'll admit, I was tempted to abandon all pretence of a fair and balanced news update in favour of writing "iPad 3 launch next week!" 200 times in bold capitals.

However, in addition to The Big A confirming the abovementioned iPad 3 event, Samsung decided to reveal a sexy new handset that doubles as a projector, and Apple is planning to let you talk to your car via Siri - a timely reminder that there's more to life than getting all dizzy over next-gen tablets.

So, without further ado, let's get our news on.

Apple pooped Google's Mobile World Conference keynote party in headline-grabbing fashion on Tuesday by inviting the world's media to an iPad 3-related event on March 7th.

Emailed invitations bearing the words "We have something you really have to see. And touch" began winging their way across the web while Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt was still on the MWC stage.

The accompanying image has prompted speculation that Apple may do away with the traditional iPad / iPhone Home button on its third-generation tablet, and has lent credence to rumours that the sought-after slate will sport a high-res "Retina display".

You can be sure we'll be glued to our screens next Wednesday in anticipation of whatever Apple has in store for us.

Elsewhere at MWC, Samsung was busy turning walls into viewscreens with the help of its new projector phone: the Galaxy Beam.

Boasting 15 lumens of projecting power, this surprisingly slim handset is capable of throwing up a 50-inch image on whatever flat surface you care to aim it at.

As for the phone itself, it sports a none-too-shabby 1GHz dual-core processor, a 4-inch screen, and a 5-megapixel camera.

Throw in a box of popcorn and an MP4 of Super 8 and you've got yourself a pocket-sized cinema.

Your friends may all drive Porsches, but you'll be making no amends when you roll up in one of Mercedes's upcoming Siri-powered A-class vehicles.

Due to be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show next month, this optional voice-recognition feature (officially referred to as 'Drive Kit Plus') will allow iPhone 4S owners to plug their handset into the dashboard, thus integrating the smartphone into the car's audio systems.

Provided you have installed the Digital DriveStyle app, you'll be able to update social networks; download music and podcasts from iTunes; and even control vehicle-specific functions like route planning with nothing but your vocal cords.

Time to trade-in that Fiat Panda, methinks.

Nokia hit us with a dual shock at MWC this week when it announced its latest smartphone handset: the 808 PureView.

The first surprise was Nokia's decision to snub (relatively) new business partner Microsoft by choosing Symbian Belle over Windows Phone as the device's native OS.

The second surprise was that the handset will sport an intimidatingly powerful 41-megapixel sensor called PureView, capable of producing 38-megapixel photos.

Obviously, photos of that size would gobble up space on your memory card quicker than you can say 'cheese', so the idea is to use "pixel oversampling" to resolve multiple pixels of CCD sensor into a single in-picture pixel, resulting in a 5 to 8-megapixel image.

Sounds complicated. I look forward to the astonishingly high-resolution PowerPoint presentation.

Finally, in an announcement filled with awkward three-letter abbreviations, Nvidia has teamed up with GCT Semiconductor and Renesas Mobile to highlight the development of LTE modems and Tegra 3 mobile processors.

Nvidia pointed to two reasons why the technology world should get excited about the aforementioned letters.

"Number one is that OEM partners can now take their current Nvidia-powered devices to the next level by creating next-gen LTE products with a fast time to market," Nvidia stated on its blog.

"Number two: this will let more users in more markets access the award-winning performance capabilities, next-gen games, and lightning fast apps enabled by Tegra."

The semiconductor design company believes that Tegra owners will enjoy better multiplayer options, faster app downloads, and increased browser speed thanks to the superior data access speed afforded them by LTE connectivity.