Samsung Elec aims to treble smartphone sales this yr

RELATED NEWS Samsung aims to treble smartphone sales in 2010

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's second-biggest mobile phone maker, said on Thursday it aimed to treble its smartphone sales by volume this year with new models supporting various operating systems.

Samsung also said in overall mobile phones it was targetting a shipment growth rate of at least double the industry average this year.

Samsung's mobile phone sales rose 16% in 2009 to 227 million units, largely helped by growth in touchscreen models.

Samsung said last week it aimed to outperform the global mobile phone shipment growth rate this year, seen at about 10%.

Beefing up smartphone offerings is a key challenge faced this year by South Korean phone makers Samsung and LG Electronics Inc, which together account for more than 30% of the overall cellphone market but hold very small pieces of the smartphone market.