Samsung on Sunday cracked another milestone and said the Galaxy S II had passed 10 million sales. The figure comes five months in and beats the time for the original Galaxy S, which took two months more to hit the same amount. The largest piece of Galaxy S II sales, 3.6 million, was in Samsung’s native South Korea.
Europe is nearly as equal in importance and has seen 3.4 million S II units trade hands to date. Southeast Asia outside of Korea was considerably less of a factor at 2.3 million. The goals include very little of North America, as the Galaxy S II only went on sale in Canada through Bell in July and was otherwise limited to unlocked, full-price versions until this month.
The sales rate pales in comparison to that for the iPhone 4, which hit 1.7 million in three days and would have passed Samsung’s Galaxy S II record partway through its first full quarter. As the S II is just one model in a considerably larger lineup, however, it could put Samsung much closer to Apple in overall smartphone sales than in the past. Apple is just keeping ahead at present and might keep its lead, but its ranking may depend on the iPhone 5’s success.
Samsung may see an upswing in its current rate with the arrival of US Galaxy S II variants and the Galaxy S II LTE, although it’s now facing legal pressure. Apple has successfully negotiated a prelminary ban in the Netherlands and may get more if an October hearing in the US is successful.
