A Samsung spokesman told FierceWireless that the company has surpassed its original tablet sales goal for the year with four weeks to spare. The 7-inch tablet, which runs Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android 2.2 platform, is now on sale in more than 30 countries. All four Tier 1 U.S. carriers and U.S. Cellular are selling the tablet at various prices points. In addition, Cellular South is expected to launch the tablet. Samsung also plans to release more tablets in various sizes next year.
In contrast, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold 1 million units of its iPad in the first month of availability. Apple captured 95 percent of the tablet market in the third quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
In addition to crowing about its tablet success, Samsung also trumpeted its U.S. smartphone success. The company said that it has sold 3 million Galaxy S Android smartphones, a little more than three months after it crossed the 1 million sales market. Like the GalaxyTab, the Galaxy S smartphones, which come in numerous variants, are available through all of the Tier 1 U.S. carriers as well as U.S. Cellular and Cellular South.
According to research firm Gartner, Samsung claimed the top spot among Android handset vendors in the U.S. market in the third quarter, based on sell-through to end users. Gartner said Samsung captured 32.1 percent of the U.S. Android smartphone market, up from 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
