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Samsung outselling iPhone

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Tabs tablet computers are displayed at the company’s shop in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday. Samsung’s net profit swelled to $4.5 billion in the April-June quarter. (Associated Press)
Anick Jesdanun Associated Press

NEW YORK – Samsung has extended its lead over Apple in smartphones, in part because its new Galaxy phones came out before Apple updated its iPhone, research group IDC said Friday.

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 phones got good reviews when they were released late in the second quarter. In the U.S., the phones work with the faster fourth-generation, or 4G, cellular networks that major wireless companies have been building. The Galaxy’s screen is larger than the iPhone’s, while the Samsung phone is lighter and thinner.

An iPhone with 4G capabilities isn’t expected until this fall. The current model, the iPhone 4S, came out in October, and sales typically drop several months after each release.

According to IDC, Samsung Electronics Co. shipped 50.2 million smartphones worldwide in the second quarter and had a market share of 33 percent, up from 17 percent a year ago. Apple Inc.’s fell slightly to 17 percent, from 19 percent a year ago. It sold 26 million iPhones in the April-June quarter.

Besides having the Galaxy S3 out months before a new iPhone, Samsung also benefited from its strategy of developing several devices for a range of consumers. By contrast, Apple targets only the high-end market with its iPhone.

IDC’s report came out the same day Samsung reported another record-high quarterly profit, thanks to Galaxy sales. Robust sales of smartphones helped offset a slowdown in other consumer electronics businesses such as televisions and personal computers.

Overall, phone manufacturers shipped 154 million smartphones in the second quarter, a 42 percent increase from 108 million a year earlier. That was slightly below IDC’s forecast of 43 percent and was the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2009. At that rate, IDC said it would be tougher for Samsung and Apple to expand their market shares further. IDC said economic turmoil in Europe could put growth prospects at risk.

Including basic cellphones, vendors shipped 406 million units, up from 402 million a year earlier.

Samsung and Apple combined claimed nearly half of the smartphone market.