Samsung: We'll hit 10M Galaxy S4 sales in less than a month

Samsung Electronics said that global shipments of its new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone will hit 10 million less than a month after it went on sale, beating the sales pace of its predecessor the Galaxy S III.

Verizon Wireless will begin selling the Samsung Galaxy S4 May 23.

"We are confident that we will pass more than 10 million sales of the S4 next week. It is selling much faster than the previous model S III," Samsung co-CEO JK Shin told reporters in South Korea, according to Korea Times. Before ascending to the co-CEO post this year Shin was the president of Samsung's mobile communications division. 

To put Samsung's number into context, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) shipped 5.6 million of its Lumia Windows Phone smartphones in the entire first quarter.

Samsung started selling the Galaxy S4 in South Korea on April 26 and it is now available in 60 countries, including the United States, China and India. The device's U.S. launch experienced hiccups as Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) had to push back the launch of the phone, which Samsung said was due to "overwhelming demand." AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) launched the device on time on April 27 but Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), the No. 1 U.S. carrier, won't start selling it until May 23. U.S. Cellular (NYSE:USM) is selling the phone as well and other smaller U.S. carriers are expected to get the gadget.

Shin said it took 50 days for the Galaxy S III to hit the 10 million sales and said the S4 will be Samsung's first to the 10 million sales mark less than a month after its official debut.

When it announced the S4 in April, Samsung said the device would eventually be available through 337 operators in 155 countries. Sales of the S4 are expected to swell the company's profits for the second quarter, though Samsung could be looking to diversify its supply chain to keep up with demand, and marketing costs could cut into margins.

In the United States, Samsung's overall sales are likely going to be goosed by a new partnership it announced with Best Buy to open 1,400 "Samsung Experience Shops" within Best Buy locations nationwide. Samsung expects to roll out the mini-stores to around 900 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores this month, with the remainder launching by early summer.

For more:
- see this Korea Times article
- see this The Verge article
- see this CNET article

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