Samsung overtakes Nokia in phones

Samsung Electronics has overtaken Nokia as number one mobile phone manufacturer in the world.

Nokia took the top spot in 1998 from Motorola, but in the first quarter of 2012 Samsung shipped 93m phones compared to almost 83m by Nokia.

Samsung also reported its highest quarterly profit since 2008.Net profit was 5.05tn won ($4.5bn; £2.8bn) in the quarter ending 31 March, up 81% from 2.78tn won last year. Samsung is also the world's biggest TV and flat screen maker.

"We cautiously expect our earnings momentum to continue going forward, as competitiveness in our major businesses is enhanced," said Robert Yi, head of investor relations at Samsung.

Samsung will unveil the latest version of its Galaxy range of phones on 3 May.The Galaxy range has been very popular and helped Samsung overtake Apple to become the world's biggest seller of smartphones.

Global Mobile Handset Shipments