The Fastest Selling Smartphone That Isn’t an iPhone

by Nate Wooley | November 5, 2012 8:32 am

[1]While Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL[2]) iPhone has the name cache, the Galaxy S III smartphone might just be the best-selling phone in the world.

South Korea-based Samsung says it has sold more than 30 million units of the popular device[3] in the five months since it was launched. Samsung’s last phone, the Galaxy S II, took 14 months to sell 30 million units.

Demand for smartphones has grown this year, and now research says more than 1 in 7 people worldwide own one[4].

The high demand is driving Samsung’s profits, as more than 70% of the firm’s third-quarter profit came from its mobile device, camera and computer division. Between the S III and the Samsung’s new Note II — a hybrid of a smartphone and a tablet — fourth-quarter profit in that division is expected to growth 5%.

Samsung is competing with Apple and its popular iPhone. Apple launched the iPhone 5 in September and sold 5 million units in three days.

Independent projections for Samsung’s Q4 smartphone sales are approximately 67 million — a huge uptick from the third quarter, when analysts say the firm sold between 56 million and 58 million units. By comparison, Apple sold just under 27 million copies of its popular iPhone in the same time frame.

More from the smartphone wars:

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SamsungPhone.jpg
  2. AAPL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AAPL
  3. more than 30 million units of the popular device: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_TEC_SKOREA_SAMSUNG_GALAXY_S_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-05-00-19-17
  4. more than 1 in 7 people worldwide own one: https://investorplace.com/2012/10/1-in-7-people-on-planet-own-smartphones/
  5. Is Microsoft Secretly Testing a Smartphone?: https://investorplace.com/2012/11/is-microsoft-secretly-testing-a-smartphone/
  6. Samsung Expects Record Profit, But …: https://investorplace.com/2012/10/samsung-expects-record-profit-but/
  7. Federal Agency Ditches Blackberry, Picks Up iPhone: https://investorplace.com/2012/10/federal-agency-ditches-blackberry-picks-up-iphone/

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/11/the-fastest-selling-smartphone-that-isnt-an-iphone/