Galaxy S3 beats iPhone 4S in U.S.

Despite its recent billion-dollar patent trial defeat in the United States, Samsung Electronics saw its Galaxy S3 smartphone trump archrival Apple’s iPhone 4S in the U.S. last month, according to an analyst at a U.S. brokerage firm yesterday.

This is the first time for a Korean smartphone maker to claim the top spot in sales on Apple’s home ground.

A news article from CNET, a U.S. tech review site, citing a report from T. Michael Walkley, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, showed that sales of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S3 were followed by those of the iPhone 4S, HTC’s One, Samsung’s Galaxy S2 and Motorola’s Droid RAZR Maxx. He did not disclose exact sales figures.

“We believe this is the first month since the iPhone 4S launched in October 2011 that it was not the top-selling smartphone in the U.S. market,” Walkley was quoted as saying in the article.

But it noted “the weaker iPhone 4S sales likely aren’t an indictment on the demand for Apple products, but merely a pause as consumers wait for the next iteration, commonly referred to as the iPhone 5.”

Confirming several months of leaks and rumors about the iPhone’s launch date, Apple on Tuesday invited members of the media to next Wednesday’s event in San Francisco. E-mail invitations bore the cryptic message, “It’s almost here,” and a large number “12” casting a shadow that appeared to be the number five, suggesting that the event would spotlight the long-anticipated iPhone 5.

The new iPhone has been rumored to have a larger touch screen than its predecessors and rumors say it will be available by the end of the month. Given the precedents of previous iPhones, Korea will probably see the device arrive next month at the earliest.

The American tech titan is expected to host a separate media event next month to unveil a new, smaller version of its wildly popular iPad. The 10-inch iPad has long dominated the tablet market but faces a growing challenge from smaller models like Amazon’s Kindle Fire, the Google Nexus 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Analysts believe Apple will launch an “iPad mini” later this year in a move that could allow the company to again best its global rivals despite the death last year of visionary founder Steve Jobs. Microsoft, Google and Amazon.com are out to grab attention ahead of the Apple event with announcements of their own this week.

Nokia and Microsoft are to host a media event in New York City on Wednesday local time, most likely to launch one or more smartphones using the Windows Phone 8 operating system.

Nokia on Tuesday unveiled a free music streaming service for U.S. customers with its Lumia handsets, without ads, as the firm seeks to gain traction in the smartphone market.

The Finnish company’s new strategy is to phase out its Symbian smartphones in favor of a partnership with Microsoft. That alliance has produced a first line of Lumia smartphones, which Nokia is counting on to help it become relevant again in a rapidly changing landscape.

Google-owned Motorola Mobility and U.S. telecom titan Verizon Wireless will host their own New York City event on Wednesday, with analysts predicting they will introduce a beefed-up RAZR smartphone powered by Android software.

A day later, Amazon.com is expected to debut a new version of its popular Kindle tablets at an event in Southern California.

Meanwhile, research by industry tracker comScore showed yesterday that Samsung mobile phones - including smartphones and feature phones - remained the most popular in the United States with 25.6 percent of the market as of the end of July.

LG ranked second with 18.4 percent of the U.S. mobile phone market, trailed by Apple, which does not produce feature, or non-smart, phones, at 16.3 percent.

Smartphones powered by Google’s Android software continued to dominate with 52.2 percent of the U.S. market, but Apple’s iOS was the second most popular smartphone platform with 33.4 percent, comScore reported.

By Seo Ji-eun, Newswires [spring@joongang.co.kr]