Fueled by the overseas success of its newest Android smartphone 
, the Galaxy S II, South Korean handset maker Samsung Electronics may be on its way to the top slot in global smartphone sales, a researcher estimates.
Neil Mawson of Strategy Analytics suggested Samsung sold between 18 million and 21 million smartphones in the second quarter, compared with 20.3 million iPhones sold by U.S.-based Apple and 16.7 million devices by Finland's Nokia.
Three-Way Battle
"Apple, Samsung and Nokia are in a close, three-way battle," Mawson told Bloomberg news. "Samsung's Android portfolio is selling strongly in most regions. Samsung and Apple will be at similar levels in smartphones by the end of the year."
The data show a boost for Samsung, who was locked behind its rivals in the first quarter, having sold just 10.8 million devices, Mawson told the news agency. It was in fourth place behind Nokia, Apple and Research In Motion. When factoring in all phone devices, the analyst said, Samsung could have a 20 percent share of global shipments this year compared with Nokia, which is looking to boost its sales with help from Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system.
The Galaxy S II, successor to the popular device that has variants on all four major U.S. wireless carriers, sold about three million units in the first 55 days, according to reports not confirmed by the company. CNET UK reported the sales may be as high as five million. The phone was due to be released this month in the U.S., but no dates have been announced.
The first dual-core smartphone from Samsung, with a 1.2-gigahertz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, the smartphone has a 4.27-inch Super AMOLED display with one gigabyte of RAM and an eight-megapixel camera. It runs Android 2.3, Gingerbread. The Sprint Nextel version will be called the Samsung Within, while AT&T 's model will be called the Attain, and on Verizon Wireless the Galaxy S II will be called the Function.
Big Plans Ahead
Samsung's sleek Galaxy phones are styled similar to Apple's iPhone with a large multi-touch display and no keyboard -- so similar, in fact, that the companies have been locked in litigation over patent infringement.
Considering the wide range of products produced by Samsung Electronics, from TVs, computers and semiconductors to appliances, its competitive edge in the smartphone arena against companies like Nokia that only make phones is impressive, observers say.
"Samsung is active in many different sectors, and in 2007 the South Korean vendor became the second-largest handset vendor in the world," analyst Alex Spektor of Strategy Analytics told us. "However, Samsung long lagged behind smartphone giants like Nokia, RIM and Apple."
That all changed in 2010 with the release of the Galaxy S "superphones," he said. "Samsung has leveraged its global distribution network and carrier relationships to drive huge volumes from consumers looking for an iPhone-like experience on an alternative platform."
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