Samsung just reported a fantastic Q1, but the company didn't breathe a word about what could be its most outstanding achievement yet: according to research firm Strategy Analytics, the company just passed Nokia as the world's largest phone maker, at least in terms of shipments. Samsung shipped an estimated 93.5 million handsets this quarter, the firm reported, including 44.5 million smartphones, while Nokia apparently shipped 82.7 million phones. Strategy Analytics says that Nokia had been the market leader for shipments since 1998, when it displaced Motorola as the lead. Now, South Korea-based Samsung is standing tall, and if the figures are correct, Apple and Samsung combined make half of all smartphones shipped around the world.
That's not good enough for Samsung, of course, which wants to take an even firmer lead next month with the Galaxy S III.