Samsung smartphone sales top 30m

Samsung says it has sold more than 30 million flagship Galaxy S III smartphones in about five months, making it one of the fastest selling smartphones in the world.

The company launched the smartphone at the end of May, months before competitors began shipping the latest versions of their top phones.

The runaway demand for high-end smartphones fuelled record profits at Samsung in recent quarters while other consumer electronics firms were hit by the global economic downturn.

Samsung, which also makes TVs, home appliances, semiconductors and display panels, got almost 70% of its third-quarter operating profit from the division that makes mobile devices, cameras and computers.

Research firm IDC ranks the South Korean firm as the world's top smartphone seller in the last three quarters.