So the iPhone 5 sold 5 million in its first weekend after launching last Friday on September 21. So the iPhone 5 broke the previous record, held by Apple's own iPhone 4S, by on million units. This doesn't seem to have Samsung, its chief rival in the mobile market, worried. In fact, the South Korean-based company is expecting a stronger than ever fall, predicting sales for its popular Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3 smartphones will still be strong.
According to Bloomberg, J.K. Shin, the head of mobile business for Samsung stated that he expects the Galaxy Note 2 to sell three times as fast as the original Galaxy Note. While he did not give any specific numbers, the original Galaxy Note sold 10 million units in around 10 months despite speculation that its large screen size would turn many consumers off to the handset. Much of these will be due to the fact that the Galaxy Note 2 will launch across five carriers; AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S Cellular, instead of the Galaxy Note's one carrier, AT&T.
But the original Galaxy Note introduced something nobody could have foreseen: a new niche market. With a screen size in of 5.3 inches (the new Galaxy Note 2 will be even bigger at 5.5 inches), the original Galaxy Note proved that the S Pen digital pen and its size does appeal to consumers who don't want to lug around both a smartphone and a tablet.
The new Galaxy Note 2 phablet will also be one of the most powerful handsets to ever hit the U.S. market. With 4G LTE and a 1.6Ghz quad-core processor running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, it's no slouch. The Galaxy Note 2's 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9-megapixel front-facing cameras will help it appeal to those who think Apple's iPhone, the only real market competitor to Samsung phones at the moment, is lacking some technologies such as NFC.
The Galaxy Note 2 is slated to hit the United Kingdom on October 1, and begin rolling out stateside by Mid-November, according to Samsung. Bloomberg states that the handset hits South Korea today, September 26.
But it's still Samsung's Galaxy S3 that is the most direct competitor to Apple's iPhone 5. With a 4.8-inch screen, the handset is a more traditional smartphone and doesn't come with Samsung's S Pen stylus. Samsung has stated that it expects to sell 30 million by the end of the 2012. Sales hit 20 million after 100 days, making it Samsung's best-selling smartphone, and giving Samsung a clear market presence in the face of Apple's juggernaut releases (granted Samsung may have used that to make some tacky ads).
Either way, Samsung's fall lineup looks strong, especially given the fact they are set to release the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update to 16 devices in the coming months. Thats a lot more than Apple has to offer, and Samsung is hoping that one of those fits your needs better than Apple's devices do.