Samsung grabs 9 million pre-orders for Galaxy SIII

Samsung's Galaxy S III has scooped up 9 million pre-orders, Reuters said today, based on information from the Korean Economic Daily.

Already finding a home among more than 100 global carriers, the Galaxy S III will debut in Germany on May 29 and then expand around the world. Citing an "unidentified Samsung official," the Korean news outlet said that Samung's South Korean factory was operating at full capacity to produce 5 million units of the new phone per month.

The Galaxy S series has seen strong demand, helping propel Samsung to the top spot among mobile phone and smartphone makers. The company last year outshone Apple as the No. 1 smartphone vendor in the world, according to a number of industry trackers.

Samsung's global mobile phone market share flew to 30.6 percent in the first quarter, up from 12.2 percent in 2011's first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.

The Korean handset maker also recently surpassed former top dog Nokia as the world's leading cell phone maker, a title that Nokia held for almost 15 years straight.