Samsung hopes to beat 2009 handset sales target

SEOUL, S.KOREA: Samsung Electronics, the world's second-biggest mobile phone maker, said on Monday the company was on track to exceed its 2009 mobile phone sales target, with touchscreen models enjoying sharp growth.

Samsung, which trails Finland's Nokia, previously said it aimed to sell more than 200 million phones this year, after selling slightly less than that figure in 2008.

Research firm Gartner expected earlier in November global mobile phone sales this year would be roughly on par with 2008 and grow 5-8 per cent next year.

Samsung said in a statement that handsets adopting full touchscreens would account for about 20 per cent of its mobile phone sales this year. In 2008, such phones made up only 5 per cent of Samsung's total sales.

Samsung said it sold around 40 million full touchscreen devices between January and November this year, compared with 10 million in 2008.

Feature-packed premium phones and smartphones with intuitive user interfaces have prompted a boom in touchscreen models that allow users to manipulate cellphones more easily.

Samsung Mobile Display, Samsung Electronics' mobile screen venture, expects touchscreens to be adopted by about 50 per cent of major portable devices - mobile phones, digital cameras, navigations and digital media players - sold in 2013.