The Korean company said its popular Galaxy S II smartphone continued its strong performance recently, and has now sold 10 million units in five months. The Android-based handset appears to have benefited from the October launch of the iPhone 4S by Apple, which has launched previous iPhone models in the summer months.

Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones in the third quarter, versus 17.1 million shipped by Apple, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Apple's iPhone 4S appears to be raking in strong sales, however, and the company said it sold over 4 million units in the first three days after its launch on Oct. 14.