Samsung overtakes Nokia in global mobile handset sales

Samsung has ended Nokia's 14-year run as the maker of the world's largest selling mobile phone and has, at least for the first three months of 2012, overtaken Apple to become the world's largest smartphone vendor, according to research release by Strategy Analytics.

Helped by its fast-selling Galaxy series smartphones, Samsung captured a record 25-per cent of the global market share in the first quarter of the current year to become the world's number one handset vendor for the first time.

The mobile handset business, led by the Galaxy series of smartphones accounted for 4.27 trillion won - more than 70 per cent of Samsung's operating income during January-March 2012, the company said in a recent release.

Samsung sold 93.5 million mobile handset devices in January-March 2012 against Nokia's 82.7 million units. Apple is at number three spot with a 9.5 per cent market share.

''Five years after it captured the number two spot from Motorola, Samsung has finally become the world's largest handset vendor in volume terms,'' Alex Spektor, associate director at Strategy Analytics, said.

According to Strategy Analytics, global handset shipments grew at an annual rate of 3 per cent to reach 368 million units in the first quarter of 2012.