Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Will Ship 19 Million Units By Q3, LTE Service With Quad-Core CPU To Launch In Korea

Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, is expected to drive the company's profits to $5.9 billion for the second quarter, according to Reuters. This means that profits will surge by 79 percent during Q2, and the company is predicted to ship 19 million units by the third quarter.

Earnings will be stronger in the current quarter, as sales of the high-end Galaxy S III will increase dramatically and drive the telecom division's earnings to above 5tn won, analyst with HMC Investment Securities Nho Geun-Chang said to the BBC. We estimate shipments of the Galaxy S III will reach 19 million units in the third quarter.

However, rival HTC has not seen the same success, as reports indicate the Taiwanese company has endured a 58 percent fall in three-month profits. Analysts predict that Apple's iPhone will be the largest competitor to Samsung's Galaxy S3.

We expect a correction in Samsung's earnings in the fourth quarter, as the launch of the new iPhone will lead to a decline in Samsung's profit in the high-end smartphone business, Park Jong-Min, fund manager with ING Investment Management said to the BBC.

The firm also expects to ship 10 million units of its Galaxy S3 by the end of July, head of Samsung's mobile phone division Shin Jong-kyun said last month. But in addition to competition from Apple's smartphone, the company has also engaged in numerous patent infringement disputes recently, pushing for a ban on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone and its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States. Analysts fear that this dispute may grow to impact other Samsung products, such as its highly-anticipated Galaxy S3.

What they are worried about are the legal spillover effects, Jasper Kim of Asia Pacific Global Research Group told the BBC. How Judge Lucy Koh's decision to block some of these Samsung smartphones in the U.S. market, which is Samsung's largest mobile carrier market, will effect Galaxy S3 sales. That's what Samsung is really worried about.

Although carriers in the United States have been suffering some release date delays, those in Korea seem to be ahead of the curve. Despite the Samsung Galaxy S3 being offered globally as a quad-core device without LTE connectivity, an LTE-ready version will be available via Korean carriers, according to CNet. Come Monday, users in that country will be able to purchase the device equipped with speedy data services through three major Korean service providers: KT, LG U+, and SK Telecom. The United States version of the Galaxy S3 does have LTE connectivity, but only with a dual-core CPU rather than a quad-core.

Samsung also promises that it will increase the S3's RAM from 1GB to 2GB, but the 2,100mAh battery will stay the same.

After multiple setbacks, the Galaxy S3 has finally hit U.S. AT&T stores today, and will be arriving to Verizon on July 10. It will be available in blue and white shades in 16GB and 32GB storage capacities with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.