A small though not insignificant consolation to Samsung in its near $1.05 billion loss to Apple in a recent patent trial may have emerged in the form of a spike in sales for one of its signature smartphones.
According to a survey of 16 U.S. retailers, sales of the South Korean company's Galaxy S3 bolted upward in the immediate aftermath of its crushing legal defeat.
Apple is currently working to ban eight Samsung devices from selling on the American market, including the Galaxy S2. The S3 was not one of the 28 devices Apple accused Samsung of copying.
The survey, conducted by Trip Chowdhry, managing director for equity research at Global Equities Research, found consumers are scrambling to buy the phone, with many retailers selling out of the device.
Up, up, and away
Among the stores Chowdhry surveyed were Costco, Sprint and AT&T.
One Costco sold out of the Galaxy S3 on both AT&T and T-Mobile networks, while another was ransacked of its entire stock of AT&T models.
Sprint's seen a large jump in sales too, with two out of three stores surveyed selling out of the phone.
According to Chowdry, all five AT&T stores surveyed said the uptick in Galaxy S3 sales was "significant" soon after Samsung was found guilty of "willful" patent infringement in a San Jose, Calif. court.
While the three Verizon stores Chowdhry surveyed still have the S3 in stock, they also told him sales of the device outsold the iPhone through August.
Chowdhry speculated the spike in Galaxy S3 purchases is tied to concerns the device, considered a quality phone by many, would no longer be available in the U.S.
Via PC World
