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Samsung Galaxy S4 finally takes battle against iPhone5 to the US

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

April 27, 2013 | 3 min read

With Samsung already the global leader in smartphone sales, the new Galaxy S4 handset has finally hit stores in America, challenging the US best-seller crown which Apple grabbed with the iPhone5 last year.

Samsung Galaxy S4: challenging iPhone5

Worldwide, sales of Samsung smartphones jumped 56 percent to 69.4 million units, almost double the number of iPhones sold by Apple, Strategy Analytics said.

Shipments of iPhones rose 6.6 percent to 37.4 million units in the three-month period - impressive but the slowest pace on record. The iPhone5, however, is still the one to beat.

The Galaxy S4 -- with a 5-inch screen, 13-megapixel camera and motion-detecting software -- went on sale this week in South Korea, the US - and Australia.

Apple fans point out that the iPhone5 sold 27.4 million units during the last three months of 2012 - more than the entire population of Australia.

The Galaxy S4 is part of Samsung's plan to win back the top spot in smartphone sales in the U.S.

A hiccup in the Samsung progress came when U.S. wireless carriers T-Mobile and Sprint pushed back their release dates, citing shipment delays. Verizon , the largest U.S. carrier, won't make the Galaxy S4 available until May 30.

In the battle between Samsung and Apple the iPhone 5 has beaten Samsung's flagship phone in sales during the last months of 2012. The iPhone 5 became the best selling smartphone in the world with the Samsung Galaxy S3 being pushed into third placed behind the iPhone 4S, according to Strategy Analytics.

The combined sales of the two Apple phones make up one in five of all smartphones shipped during the quarter, giving them a 20 per cent share of the entire market.

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