On the same day that Apple announced that it sold more 4 million iPhone 4S smartphones, Samsung said global sales of its Galaxy S and Galaxy S II devices have hit more than 30 million.
Sales of the Galaxy S II have been particularly record-breaking, Samsung said, reaching 10 million since their debut earlier this year. That is "quicker than any device in Samsung's history," the company said. With 20 million sold, meanwhile, the Galaxy S is the highest-selling mobile device in Samsung's portfolio to date.
"Since its launch only five months ago, Galaxy S II has seen tremendous sales success and garnered enthusiastic reviews from consumers and mobile industry watchers across the globe. This is in addition to the continued sales momentum behind Galaxy S, which we launched at Mobile World Congress 2010 as continues to be a run-away success with consumers," JK Shin, president and head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business, said in a statement.
The Galaxy S II made its debut at MWC 2011, and Samsung sold more than 3 million units in its first 55 days on the international market. In late August, Samsung finally announced that the device would be coming to U.S. carriers: September 16 for Sprint, October 2 for AT&T (see slideshow below), and last week for T-Mobile. Verizon has opted not to carry the Galaxy S II.
The Galaxy S, meanwhile, was released last year on various carriers: as the Captivate on AT&T, the Fascinate on Verizon, the Vibrant on T-Mobile, and the Epic 4G on Sprint.
The success of the Galaxy S line caught the eye of Apple, which filed suit against Samsung earlier this year for "slavishly" copying the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad with its Galaxy smartphones and tablets. That initial suit has snowballed into approximately two dozen patent lawsuits around the globe, with both companies asking various courts to ban Samsung and Apple devices.
Apple has already been successful in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet temporarily banned in Germany and Australia. Samsung, meanwhile, is going after the iPhone 4S, most recently in Italy and Japan.