Samsung's Galaxy S III Sells 30 Million Units

The little smartphone that could is now in the hands of

worldwide.

Designed to overthrow the iPhone empire, Samsung created the Galaxy S III to provide users with an Android-based alternative to Apple's

popular smartphone. The company has continued to expand its lineup, using diversity to win market share. Despite its varied lineup, the Galaxy S III is easily the company's biggest smartphone. Lifetime sales of the iPhone 4S (which sold nearly 40 million units in its first quarter alone) still trounce the Galaxy S III. Still, Samsung's accomplishment is not to be ignored. After the Galaxy S II was released, no one thought that its successor could sell 30 million units in less than one year. Likewise, no one expected the Galaxy Note to sell five million units in five months. In the five to six weeks following the release of the Galaxy Note II, Samsung announced that its new "phablet" had sold

. This occurred well before the phone received its full global rollout, which has yet to be completed. Samsung's impressive sales numbers have been released at a time when customer loyalty is

for Apple. Samsung recently announced a smaller version of the Galaxy S III that will be released in Europe. The company is also expected to release the Galaxy S IV as early as February 2013.