After all of the hoopla surrounding the iPhone 5's official debut this week, Samsung has announced that it expects sales of its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone to exceed 30 million units by the end of 2012.
According to a new report from the Yonhap News Agency, Samsung's IT and mobile unit chief, Shin Jong-kyun, made the prediction during a briefing this week with reporters at the company's Seoul office. The new forecast comes just days after the South Korea-based electronics giant announced that it has already sold 20 million Galaxy S III units in just over three months.
Samsung also has lofty sales goals for its Android device the Galaxy Note II note-quite-a-phone-note-quite-a-tablet "phablet." Jong-kyun said the company expects sales of the Galaxy Note II to be more than double that of the original Galaxy Note, which has sold more than 10 million units.
The forthcoming device features a faster CPU, vastly improved note taking and drawing capabilities, and an even bigger screen than the original Galaxy Note. Jong-kyun denied rumors that Samsung is planning to push up the release date for the Galaxy Note II ahead of the iPhone 5 launch in South Korea, noting the new phablet will be released in October, as scheduled.
This gels with rumors that surfaced the past few days that seem to confirm an October 21 release date for the Galaxy Note II.
Samsung hasn't let much slip on its fabled new "Phablet" yet -say that five times fast - but we do know the Galaxy Note 2 is a bigger Galaxy S3 version. The device will have the same design lines that you've seen in the company's 2012 flagship handset but at a bigger scale, reports Androidauthority.com. The insides are also very similar to the Galaxy S3, but the Note is not just a phone, as it has plenty of tablet-like functionality. The device also comes with a stylus on board.
The Galaxy note II features a touch-screen display with 1280 x 720 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, 2GB of RAM, 16/32/64GB of on-board memory with support for up to 64GB microSD upgrade, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with Auto Focus, LED flash and HD video recording, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, A-GPS, and Glonass support, 3,100mAh user-removable battery with faster charging, S Pen support and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on board with TouchWiz UI on top and new S-Pen features.
Samsung's device will reportedly be named the SCH-I605, according to BriefMobile. Très chic. The real shocker here though is that a source close to BriefMobile claims the Galaxy Note II will not push aside its quad-core CPU in favor of a more LTE-friendly chip like Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4. Up until now this has been the case for high-octane Android phones outfitted with LTE such as the HTC Evo 4G LTE and Samsung's own Galaxy S III.
Meanwhile, those with a Galaxy S III will have to wait a little longer for a taste of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. According to CNET UK, Samsung confirmed that the latest version of the Android operating system will be available for the Galaxy S III beginning in October.
A Samsung spokeswoman, however, could not confirm when Jelly Bean would roll out to the Galaxy S III.
"Samsung Mobile has not determined which devices will be eligible for the Jelly Bean software update," the spokeswoman said in an email. "We will share that information publicly as soon as the product roadmap is confirmed."
Also, if you're in the market for a Galaxy S III, now is the time to buy one. Amazon is now selling the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S III for $99, cutting the price of the popular Android handset in half, but the deal won't last long.