We’ve heard a lot about integrating docked desktop modes into Android this past week, but here’s a smartphone that packs its own external display. The Galaxy Beam isn’t Samsung’s first pico projector-phone combination, but it’s the first running Android, so it’s on our radar. The Gingerbread phone packs a 15-lumen lamp capable of displaying up to a 50-inch image into a body that’s not too much larger than a standard phone, though the other specifications aren’t anything to write home about. The Samsung Galaxy Beam was announced via press release prior to Mobile World Congress, which doesn’t officially begin until Monday.

Aside from the projector, the Beam packs a 4-inch, 800×480 LCD (not Super AMOLED) display, a 1Ghz dual-core processor and 8GB of internal memory, plus an open MicroSD card slot. Unfortunately connectivity is limited to HSPA. For cameras you get a 5MP rear and 1.3MP front-facing cam – not bad, considering how much extra hardware needs to be crammed in there. The yellow-accented body is 12.5mm thick, again, impressive considering the integrated hardware. A 2000mAh battery is slightly larger than normal, but who knows how long it’ll last in projector mode.

Gingerbread is the order of the day, with Samsung’s standard flanked home button configuration for navigation purposes.  There isn’t a whole lot of information on how the projector mode will work – Samsung isn’t even saying what resolution it has, beyond “high definition”. We’ll be sure to check out the Galaxy Beam at Samsung’s booth on the show floor later this week. For that and other news, keep a tab tuned to our Mobile World Congress portal.