Samsung Galaxy S3 Dominates Europe Smartphone Sales

Samsung’s new Galaxy S3 smartphone has won top reviews in all five European markets in which it was launched on May 28, the company announced Sunday. As a result Samsung’s European market share has surged past that of its main rival Apple.

Thanks to its edge in display quality, wealth of touch-screen features and ease of internet access, France’s Que Choisir gave the Galaxy S3 the highest score among 99 models from 10 makers while Italy’s Altroconsumo also put it tops among 145 models.
It was also the top-rated phone according to Spain’s Organizacion de Consumidores y Usuarios, the Netherlands’ Consumentenbond and Belgium’s Test Achats.

Most of the ratings put Apple’s iPhone 4S in third or fourth place. The iPhone 4S was released in Europe last October.

As a result of the rave reviews Samsung’s weekly share of the British smartphone market has topped 40% since its release. It has better than 60% market share in France, and over 50% in Italy and Germany.

Similar trends are shaping up in the US where the Galaxy S3 was launched last Thursday. Sprint has already run out of stock in its online shop. It is having to wait for resupplies along with AT&T and Verizon who have experienced similar runs on stocks.