South Korean technology company Samsung is aiming to sell half a billion handsets in 2013.
According to The Korea Times, the manufacturer expects to ship 510 million phones next year, which would represent a 20 percent increase from the number of devices shipped this year. In 2012, Samsung shipped an estimated 420 million devices.
Out of the 510 million devices it's expected to ship, 390 million units are expected to be smartphones, with the remaining 120 million being feature phones.
Samsung plans to escalate plans for its own Windows Phone 8 handsets, with an executive at Samsung's telecommunications department also noting high user demand for LTE devices. Smartphones that support LTE are expected to ship 275 million units in 2013.
The firm was recently named the worldwide handset market leader with a 29 percent share. During the third quarter of 2012, it sold 98 million phones, of which 55 million were smartphones.
The Galaxy S3 in particular has sold over 30 million units in 2012, subsequently seeing Samsung post record profits of $7.4 billion during this year's Q3, an increase of 91 percent when compared to the same period in 2011. The device was also named the best-selling smartphone on the planet during Q3, a title previously held by Apple's iPhone 4S.
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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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friskiest cinergy=troll /FixedReply
Its good to hear that WP8 is getting more attention in 2013,. something it sorely needed last year. -
ericburnby 390 million depends greatly on your definition of a "smartphone".Reply
GS3's or iPhones are "smartphones". Phones with dinky 2.8" 320x240 screens with processors incapable of running 90% of Apps out there have no business being put into the "smartphone" category.
Samsung still sells devices with Froyo in many markets around the world and even in the US they sell a lot of low-end phones with Gingerbread. Seriously, Samsung? What's next, HP or Dell shipping a PC with Windows 2000 or XP? -
amk-aka-Phantom ericburnby390 million depends greatly on your definition of a "smartphone".GS3's or iPhones are "smartphones". Phones with dinky 2.8" 320x240 screens with processors incapable of running 90% of Apps out there have no business being put into the "smartphone" category.Samsung still sells devices with Froyo in many markets around the world and even in the US they sell a lot of low-end phones with Gingerbread. Seriously, Samsung? What's next, HP or Dell shipping a PC with Windows 2000 or XP?Reply
Even though I despise such devices as well, many people are glad they can buy a cheap Galaxy Ace/Galaxy Mini and still be able to check their mail on the phone and use Skype. -
Waiting on the Galaxy Note 3 this year with the 6.3 inch 1080p screen, 4gb ram. To upgrade my Note 1.Reply
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deftonian If Samsung continues to move down this path of releasing amazing high-end phones, then I will stick with them. My Note II is the first Samsung phone owned but it probably wont be my last. Very impressive phones.Reply