Samsung Expects Galaxy S3 Sales To Top 10 Million In July

Samsung has predicted that sales of the Galaxy S III smartphone should exceed 10 million units in July

Michelle Maisto eWEEK USA 2012. Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc.

A top Samsung executive has told Reuters the company expects sales of its Galaxy S III smartphone to exceed 10 million units in July.

The executive added that the figure would make the smartphone the company’s fastest selling device.

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The report quoted JK Shin, head of Samsung’s mobile division, who told reporters that market conditions were challenging, but that Samsung expects second-quarter results to be better than its first quarter – during which it nearly doubled its profits from a year earlier.

“We’re getting far better reviews on S III than we did with its predecessors globally … and supply simply can’t meet soaring demand,” Shin added, according to the report. “We’ve sent executives and staff to almost all our (component) suppliers to ensure a smooth offering and hopefully things will get better from next week.”

In mid May, the Korean Economic Daily, citing a Samsung official, reported that pre-orders for the phone had exceeded nine million units and that Samsung’s factory in South Korea, capable of producing five million units a month, was running at full capacity.

The Galaxy S III was released in 28 countries in late May and on 21 June arrived on the T-Mobile and Sprint networks, the first of five that will host it in the United States. Or rather, it sort of did. The day came and went without a new mention of the phone on the Sprint homepage.

Sprint told eWEEK in a statement:

Due to overwhelming demand for the Galaxy S III worldwide, Samsung has informed us they will not be able to deliver enough inventory of Galaxy S III for Sprint to begin selling the device on 21 June. We are working closely with Samsung on a delivery schedule to support our launch. We have begun shipping preorders for the 16GB version of Samsung Galaxy S III and anticipate they will be delivered by 21 June. We hope to begin shipping preorders for the 32GB version next week as we receive inventory. Customers can check the status of their preorder at www.sprint.com/myorder.

It has yet to begin shipping 32GB models. On the T-Mobile site 21 June, 32GB models were also listed as “out of stock.”

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Samsung, which sells a variety of handsets at a number of price points, introduced the first Galaxy S smartphone in March 2010, in response to Apple’s popular iPhone. During second quarter of 2011, its mobile phone business posted 10 percent growth from a year earlier, according to data from IDC. By the first quarter of 2012, its year-over-year growth was at 267 percent, catapulting it over Apple and 14-year market leader Nokia. During the quarter, it told 42.2 million units, to Apple’s 35.1 million iPhone’s and Nokia’s 11.9 million devices.

“Samsung reclaimed the smartphone leadership position and established a new market record for the number of smartphones shipped in a single quarter,” IDC reported 1 May. “Propelling the company forward was continued expansion of its Galaxy portfolio in nearly all directions – new and old smartphones, product and market segmentation, and multiple price points, screen sizes, and processor speeds.”

Apple has far different strategy – later this summer it is expected to introduce its one new phone for the year. Though in a nod to the growing displays on its Android competitors – the Galaxy S III, with its 4.8-inch display, is one of the largest to date – analysts expect Apple to break form and for the first time diverge from its traditional 3.5-inch form factor and feature a 4-inch-plus display.