Confirming figures that its Polish office let slip in a now-deleted tweet, Samsung has officially announced that channel sales of the Galaxy S III — its flagship smartphone — have passed 30 million units, that’s within 5 months (or 150 days) of the phone’s launch in May.

The landmark, which the Korean handset maker had expected to pass by the end of 2012, comes after the company sold 10 million devices during September and October. Samsung previously announced that the Galaxy S III had passed 20 million sales within its first 100 days and, though the past two months have seen sales slow somewhat, the landmark is significant since it shows that the device is still selling well, despite the launch of the iPhone 5.

“The Galaxy S III continues to be a runaway favorite with customers across the world,” said JK Shin, president and head of Samsung’s IT and mobile communications division, in a press announcement. “Meeting this sales milestone in five months sets another record for Samsung, we are extremely proud and yet motivated to continue to provide our customers with products they love.”

Speaking back in September, Shin also commented on the launch of the new Galaxy Note 2 (a device unveiled last month at IFA 2012 in Berlin), believing the smartphone-cum-tablet will double the sales of its predecessor — which has sold more than 10 million units. Just last week, Samsung revealed that the Galaxy Note 2 had already sold more than 3 million units in less than 40 days.

It’s been a hugely successful year for Samsung, with the Korean vendor posting record profits of $7.4 billion in the third quarter. The Galaxy S III is still set to add to its huge sales tally as the holiday season approaches, where smartphone sales get an anticipated boost from the Christmas period.

Samsung points out that the Samsung S II passed 10 million sales at the same stage, and that growth is emblematic of the surge it has seen and it will be interesting to see how things will proceed. Details of Samsung’s coming Galaxy S IV surfaced in Korea following the launch of the iPhone 5, although the company later distanced itself from the reports.

It would certainly be something if the device could continue that growth and triple the Galaxy S III’s sales figures, though Samsung isn’t resting on its laurels and will further diversifying its appeal with the Galaxy S III Mini.

Note: Channel sales do not represent sales to consumers, the latter is a figure that Samsung does not release.

Images via Samsung

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