Samsung sells over 10 million Galaxy S4 smartphones in first month

Samsung Electronics has reported global channel sales of over 10 million units of the Galaxy S4 in less than a month after its global launch.

The new smartphone from the Samsung stable has outstripped its predecessors in first-month sales.

The GALAXY S III reached the 10 million mark 50 days after its launch in 2012, while the GALAXY S II took five months and the GALAXY S seven months to reach the milestone, Samsung said.

The device is now available in over 110 countries and will gradually be rolled out to a total of 155 countries in tandem with partners, Samsung said Thursday.

The Galaxy S4 features a 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED display with 441 pixels per inch, and a dual camera function that allows simultaneous use of both front and rear cameras, besides software such as Air View and  Air Gesture that aim to simplify interaction with the phone including through hand gestures.

Samsung is also planning to introduce more color variations of the device. In addition to the currently available White Mist and Black Forest, new color iterations will be added this summer, including Blue Arctic and Red Aurora, followed by Purple Mirage and Brown Autumn, the company said.

The South Korean vendor had a 30.8 percent share of the smartphone market in the first quarter to Apple’s 18.2 percent, research firm Gartner said.

Samsung is also making profits from its Android smartphone sales, and captured a 95 percent share of all Android smartphone profits in the first quarter, research firm Strategy Analytics said earlier this month. Global Android smartphone profits reached $5 billion in total during the first quarter of 2013, and accounted for 43 percent share of the entire smartphone industry’s operating profits, it added.

The success of the Galaxy S4 has not gone unnoticed by its competitors. Apple has filed to a court in California that the smartphone infringes on five of its patents. The company aims to add the Galaxy S4 to an ongoing case involving Apple and Samsung being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.