It took the original Samsung Galaxy S around six months to hit it sales target of 10 million units sold back at the end of 2010 – conceived by many at the time to be a rather fanciful aim.

According to numbers quoted by Korea Economic Daily, that's a figure Samsung may come close to hitting on day one with the Galaxy S III, with global pre-orders having already hit 9 million units.

High hopes

Said pre-orders have reportedly been made across more than 100 carriers around the world, with the handset due to on sale first in Germany on 29 May.

Indeed, it's reported Samsung's smartphone factory in South Korea is running at full capacity of 5 million units per month.

Samsung's latest handset was unveiled back at the start of May, with the Korean manufacturer branding it the "best in class smartphone in the world."

The firm has claimed sales of the handset will be a major contributor to its second quarter earnings, building on its existing base as the largest mobile manufacturer on the planet according to studies by both IDC and Gartner.

[source: Reuters]