Samsung today announced that it has sold 30 million units of its flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III. The smartphone was released 150 days ago in Europe. This isn’t quite an Apple-level number (almost 30 million iPhone 5s have been sold in its first month of availability), but it is a huge milestone for the Korean device manufacturer and puts Apple on notice, especially considering that loyalty to the iPhone brand is beginning to wane.

“The Galaxy S III continues to be a runaway favorite with customers around the world,” said J.K. Shin, head of IT & Mobile Communications at Samsung. “Meeting this sales milestone in five months sets another record for Samsung, and we are extremely proud and yet motivated to continue to provide our customers with products that they love. On behalf of Samsung Mobile, I appreciate millions of customers around the world that have chosen the samsung Galaxy S III.”

30 million Galaxy S III sales triples the number of units Samsung sold of the device’s predecessor, the Galaxy S II. In addition to its Galaxy S III sales, Samsung announced last week that it had sold 3 million Galaxy Note II smartphones during that device’s first month of availability.

(photo courtesy Samsung)