Samsung extended its lead in the world-wide mobile phone market in the second quarter of 2012, as the South Korean giant doubled US rival Apple in the smartphone market, a new survey showed. The IDC report released late July 26 showed Samsung atop the fast-growing market for smartphones as well as the overall mobile phone market, which is expanding slowly.
The survey showed Samsung shipped 50.2 million smartphones globally in the April-June period, a sizzling 172.8 percent gain from a year earlier, while Apple sold 26 million iPhones, up 27.5 percent.
IDC noted that Samsung gained from its new Galaxy S III phone, while demand for Apple sagged six months after the release of its latest iPhone. Apple is widely expected to release a new version of the iPhone later this year.
The report comes ahead of a blockbuster trial set to open Monday in California with Apple accusing Samsung of infringing on its patents for the iPhone and leading iPad tablets. Samsung has countered that its own patents were violated by Apple.
The IDC report said smartphone shipments jumped 42 percent year-over-year, but that the overall mobile phone market rose just one percent. That means many users of so-called "feature" phones are switching to newer smartphones.