Five million units of Samsung Galaxy Note have been shipped since its October debut in 2011, South Korea's Samsung said on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone for a device that the tech world greeted with mixed reactions.

The total shipment numbers, however, could not be taken as actual sales figures as Samsung did not disclose with its report the exact Galaxy Note units that have been activated since the gadget made its way to the global market.

Samsung first introduced the semi-smartphone, semi-tablet product in Europe and parts of Asia in the fourth quarter of 2011 then rolled it out in the United States at the start of the current year.

The company has cemented its reputation as one of Apple's most viable competitors and this year, it has indicated keen intents to focus on the Galaxy Note following admission that its tablet thrust was not making considerable headways, basing on its tablet lines' sales performance by the end of 2011.

Research firm IDC has reported that as of the last quarter, Apple's iPad has accumulated total sales of more than 55 million units since the product was first released in 2010 while Samsung reported that only some six million units of the wide array of tablet computers it offers have been picked by consumers around the world.

But Galaxy Note's arrival, Samsung said, could drastically alter the tablet market landscape as it forecast in December that the device, judging from brisk sales in the last quarter last year, will spawn new breed of users appreciative of the integrated functions of tablet computing and smartphone in a single unit.

"The rapid global sales of Galaxy Note are notable since it is creating a new market for something between smartphone and tablet PC," tech blog site Digital Trends quoted Samsung as saying in a report it issued in December.

And with the device's U.S. release this year "the speed of (Galaxy Note's) global sales is expected to accelerate," the company added.

Around that time, Samsung revealed that up to one million units of Galaxy Note has been shipped, with the company stressing that "one million global shipping of Galaxy Note means it has well positioned itself as a market creator."

"Samsung will continuously strengthen its leadership in the global smartphone market as well as create new markets with innovative devices," the tech firm added buoyed by what it claimed as the Note's positive response among global consumers.

At present, Galaxy Note has carved sufficient presence in France, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Samsung said.

The Note comes with a 5.3-inch screen, which can be navigated through with the help of a stylus, and functions both as a mobile phone and a mini-tablet that reviewers said could be forced-fitted into a pocket, that is if users do not mind the bulge

The device connects in Wi-Fi, 3G and LTE and retails with Android 2.3 as its pre-installed operating system though Samsung has pledged in March that Android 4.0, also nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), will be deployed by June at the latest this year to upgrade the phone's OS.

Digital Trends has lined up the Galaxy Note with the Galaxy SII as two of Samsung's most successful mobile devices so far, both of which emit HD screen resolution, many thanks to the AMOLED technology employed by Samsung on the gadgets' image rendering.

Also, a bigger version of the device, the Galaxy Note 10.1, will be introduced this year, Samsung said.