To say that smartphone manufacturer Samsung had a great 2012 is an understatement. The handset manufacturer finished the final quarter of last year with record-breaking profits, thanks to the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S III was the first smartphone ever to outsell an iPhone while both devices were offered by the same retailers. They had also posted record profits in the third quarter of 2012, and most analysts predict that behind sales support of the popular Galaxy S III, Samsung will once again host record Q1 sales for this year.
The analysts at Counterpoint Research believe that Samsung sold more than 25 million phones each month so far this year, which would amount to more than 75 million in Q1 smartphone units sold globally. What puts that already impressive number in even more impressive perspective is the fact that seasonal demand in the first quarter of most years is lower than the fourth quarter of the previous year. Those numbers would easily be a company record, and set up very nicely for the upcoming Galaxy S4 release to hit the ground running.
Over January and February of 2013, Counterpoint Research numbers show that Samsung increased market share to 35%. That is nearly a 10% gain over their 32% share in the final quarter of last year, and compares favorably to Apple’s 21% share in the first two months of this year. Smartphone manufacturer LG actually also saw an 8% gain to 4.3% so far this year. All the numbers point to an operating profit of roughly $7.7 billion, and the lion’s share of that profit comes on the heels of global popularity for the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone.
As if the Galaxy S III needed a lower retail price to make it more popular than it already is, select online retailers recently lowered the price tag on the 16 GB Galaxy S III for Verizon down to $9.99 on contract. That handset is available in blue, white, black or brown and arrives in a slim 0.34 inch (8.6 mm) form factor. Also light at 4.70 ounces (133 g), the Galaxy S III boasts a large 4.80 inch screen with 720 x 1,280 pixel resolution.
That display delivers a pixel density of 306 pixels per inch on the Super AMOLED screen, and talk time on the handset runs an impressive 15.0 hours from a full battery charge. A dual core 1.5 GHz CPU and 2.0 GB of RAM memory are present in the hardware package, and the 16 GB Galaxy S III for Verizon also contains a microSD slot for storage expansion. The GS III delivers simultaneous HD video and image capture with its rear facing 8.0 megapixel camcorder, recording video in 1,080P HD resolution.
