Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., announced during the week that Samsung GALAXY S II (Model: GT-I9100) has passed the 5 million global sales milestone.

The GALAXY S II is Samsung's flagship smartphone device; a thin, 8.49mm and lightweight dual-core smartphone that runs on the Android platform -- which is now the world's top mobile operating system.

Samsung noted that the 5 million mark has been reached in just 85 days, a rate which is 40 days faster than the original GALAXY S took to reach the same sales mark. This rate is set to accelerate as Samsung has just launched GALAXY S II in China, the world's largest market, Samsung said.

"In just a few months the Galaxy S II has led the way in driving Samsung's unmatched performance in the smartphone industry" said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business. "Since being launched into the retail market in late April, the Galaxy S II has seen tremendous growth. This reflects the strong support from carrier partners globally, who in choosing the Galaxy S II as their flagship device have reaffirmed the device's status as a premium, market-defining Smartphone"

Market Leader... iPhone

The unit sales though pale in comparison to the market leader in smartphones on a per-model basis. Apple Inc., sold 20.34 million iPhones in the most recent quarter, representing 142 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple delivered 69.3 million units of the iPhone for the 12 months ended June 25, 2011, a 108% increase from the same period the year before.

Apple introduced the iPhone 4 in June, featuring an all-new design, FaceTime video calling, a high resolution Retina display, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and front facing camera, high definition video recording, Apple's A4 processor and a 3-axis gyroscope. iPhone 4 comes with the iOS 4 operating system.

Apple Inc. is releasing this September the iPhone 5, which is thinner and lighter than the previous iPhone model. The Wall Street Journal said that the iPhone 5 is expected to be similar to the current iPhone 4, but slimmer with an improved eight-megapixel camera. The WSJ added the new iPhone will operate on Qualcomm Inc.'s wireless chips, replacing chips provided by a former unit of German chip maker Infineon Technologies AG. Bloomberg News reported that the iPhone 5 will have a A5 processor, a more powerful chip that was added to the iPad 2, which was released in April. Reports also say that the iPhone 5 is expected to have an improved lock screen, a separate flash unit for the camera, panoramic photo capabilities, 1080p Full HD videos, integration to Twitter, iCloud service, and improved speech recognition.

Apple sold 9.25 million iPad tablets during the quarter, a 183 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Samsung's Galaxy Tab competes in tablet sales with the iPad, which has taken more than 80% of the tablet market.

Surpassing Nokia

Although more iPhone 4s are sold than the Galaxy S II, Samsung is more than content with its feat given that it has been going to bank because of smartphone sales.

Unlike Apple, which only has the iPhone in its line-up, Samsung has a wide line-up, including the Galaxy, the Moment, the Omnia, and the Intercept.

In fact, Samsung aims to sell 60 million smartphone units before 2011 ends, by which surpassing Nokia as the number one mobile phone vendor could be a possibility. Nokia has not released a major smartphone offering this year and is still developing Windows based phones.

Samsung sold 10.8 million smartphone units in the first quarter. Samsung shipped 19.2 million units of such handsets in the second quarter, according to estimates by Charles Park, a Hong Kong-based analyst for Mizuho Securities Asia.

Saved by Smartphone Line

Samsung said Friday that operating profit declined year-on-year from the record-setting second quarter of 2010, as weakened demand reduced margins in the Semiconductor and Display Panel businesses.

Samsung had revenues of 39.44 trillion Korean won for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011, a 4-percent increase year-on-year. For the quarter, the company posted net income of 3.51 trillion won, representing an 18-percent drop year-on-year.

Samsung's Semiconductor (semiconductor devices and solutions for PC, server and mobile applications), System LSI Business (microcomponents, logic ICs, analog ICs and image sensors), Display Panel Business (flat panels for TVs and monitors), and Digital Media & Appliances businesses (LED and LCD TVs) saw revenue declines from year-ago levels.

Samsung's telecommunications business -- which includes mobile communications and telecommunications systems -- drove revenue growth in the second quarter, with sales rising 43 percent year-on-year due to strong demand for Samsung's GALAXY SII smartphone and other mobile devices.

Mobile phones and smartphone revenues rose 45 percent year-on-year to 11.69 trillion won. Shipments of mobile handsets increased in the high-single-digit range quarter-on-quarter driven by brisk sales of smartphones including the flagship GALAXY SII, which began to be rolled out globally during the quarter. The average sales price of handsets increased by more than 10 percent.

Samsung expected market demand for mobile handsets to increase by more than 15 percent in the second half, driven by consumers upgrading to smartphones. In the third quarter, Samsung will continue to drive sales of the GALAXY SII and strengthen its product lineup with new mobiles featuring Long-Term Evolution technology. Samsung added it will proactively respond to increased demand for tablet devices with its GALAXY Tab portfolio in various sizes.

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