Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top smartphone maker, said Thursday global sales of its Galaxy S3 smartphones have surpassed the 20 million mark since its release in late May.
The milestone comes three times and six times faster than the Galaxy S and the Galaxy S2 phones, Samsung said in a press release, referring to the earlier models in the Galaxy S line-up that have together sold more than 50 million units since June 2010.
Samsung said sales in Europe topped other regions with 6 million, while Asia and U.S. sales followed with 4.5 million and 4 million.
Sales in Korea, Samsung's home turf, reached 2.5 million.
The top smartphone maker said it plans to keep up robust sales by adding three new color options to the current blue and white versions.
The latest milestone comes ahead of archrival Apple Inc.'s widely-anticipated iPhone 5 launch next week. The gadget, which is expected to contend the Galaxy S3, is expected to be unveiled at a San Fransisco press event on Wednesday.
The new iPhone release has been grabbing attention as an event that will take the courtroom fights between the two giants to the market. Samsung and Apple are locked in patent rows in nine countries as they vie for dominance in the $219 billion smartphone market.
While Samsung's Galaxy S3 sales unseated Apple's iPhone 4S in August as the best-selling smartphone in the U.S., analysts project the new iPhone may reverse this trend, as consumers who have been delaying phone purchases return to the market.
The Cupertino, California company may sell up to 10 million iPhone 5 devices in the first week, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who was quoted in a CNET report. In October 2011, Apple sold 4 million iPhone 4S units during three days after its release.
Some analysts, however, expect heightened market competition to stall Apple's iPhone 5 rally.
Handset makers have been rushing to release gadgets packed with the latest features in efforts to capture consumers amid the iPhone 5 launch. On Wednesday, Nokia and Motorola held separate press events to showcase new smartphones.
In South Korea, LG Electronics Inc. is eying to reclaim its market clout with the Optimus G device, also dubbed the "chairman" phone due to LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo's involvement with the model. (Yonhap)
삼성전자 휴대전화 사상 최단 기간 판매고
스마트폰 갤럭시S3가 출시 100일만인 5일 글로벌 시장에서 2천만대 이상 팔렸다고 삼성전자측이 6일 밝혔다.
이는 하루 20만대씩 팔린 것으로, 삼성전자 휴대전화 사상 최단 기간 기록이다.
갤럭시S3가 출시 50일만에 판매량 1천만대를 돌파했다는 점을 고려하면 출시 초기부터 지금까지 글로벌 판매량을 지속적으로 유지한 것으로 풀이할 수 있다.
지역별로도 유럽 600만대, 아시아 450만대, 북미 400만대, 한국 250만대 등 고른 분포를 보이고 있다.
특히 북미·유럽·중국 시장에서는 최근 들어 판매량이 더욱 증가하는 추세라는 게 삼성의 설명이다.
전작들인 갤럭시S·S2와 비교해봐도 격차가 크다. 갤럭시S는 1천만대 돌파에 7개월, 2천만대 돌파에 17개월이 걸렸고 갤럭시S2는 각각 5개월과 10개월이 걸렸다.
갤럭시S3의 판매 속도가 갤럭시S2의 3배가량, 갤럭시S의 6배가량이 되는 셈이다.
업계에서는 갤럭시S3의 인기가 4.8인치 HD 슈퍼아몰레드(AMOLED) 화면을 장착하고 다양한 사용자 편의 기능을 추가했기 때문이라고 보고 있다.
삼성전자 관계자는 "갤럭시S3는 사람을 위해 진화하는 스마트폰으로 글로벌 스마트폰 시장에 새로운 변화를 주고 있다"며 "앞으로도 지속적인 혁신제품 창출을 통해 소비자들에게 차별화된 경험을 제공할 것"이라고 말했다.
삼성전자는 현재 출시된 파란색(페블 블루)과 흰색(마블 화이트) 모델에 이어 갈색(엠버 브라운)·빨간색(가넷 레드)·검은색(스파이어 블랙) 등 다양한 색상의 모델을 글로벌 시장에서 추가 출시해 인기를 이어갈 방침이다. (연합뉴스)
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