Samsung Galaxy S III scores 9 million pre-orders worldwide

Samsung has reportedly received 9 million pre-orders for its Galaxy S III worldwide, making it one of the most successful smartphone launch already in the company’s history. In contrast, the Galaxy S II received just 3 million pre-orders, according to Korean Economic Daily, Reuters reports. To put things into perspective, it took Samsung five months to ship 5 million units of the Galaxy Note and it took 20 months to sell 20 million units of the Galaxy S II. The Galaxy S III is scheduled to launch in Europe on May 29 and is expected to be launched in India in the first week of June.

The daily also reports that Samsung’s factories are working at full steam to satisfy the initial demand and are expected to churn over 5 million units of the Galaxy S III a month. Samsung has seen unprecedented demand from carriers globally and is expected to launch the Galaxy S III with just shy of 300 carriers. The fact that the next iPhone is not expected to be launched before the last quarter of the year makes the Galaxy S III one of the most high-profile smartphone launches of the year.