Samsung trumps Apple in smartphone sales
Samsung Electronics Co. overtook Apple Inc. as the world’s top smartphone maker in the July-September period with a 44 percent jump in shipments, and forecast strong sales in the current quarter, Reuters reported. Samsung entered the smartphone market in earnest last year, but its sales have skyrocketed, thanks to a sleek production system that rapidly brings new products to market. Apple introduced its first iPhone in 2007. Profits from Samsung’s telecom division more than doubled from a year ago to $2.2 billion and accounted for 60 percent of the South Korean firm’s total profit, Reuters said. Shipments of smartphones jumped 44 percent from the preceding quarter to 27.8 million units, up nearly four times from a year ago, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.