Nokia who had taken up the top spot since 1998 has been removed from the number one spot. Nokia shipped 83 million phones in the first quarter of 2012 but Samsung stormed ahead with a massive 93 million. The news comes a Samsung also reported its biggest quarterly profit for nearly 4 years. The net profit was £2.8 Billion for the quarter ending in March which was a huge 81& jump from the same time last year.

Robert Yi who is the Head of Investor Relations at Samsung said:  “We cautiously expect our earnings momentum to continue going forward, as competitiveness in our major businesses is enhanced,”

This news comes ahead of the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy range which will be on May 3^rd. Samsung’s Galaxy range has been a big success and has seen them overtake Apple to become the largest seller of smartphones.

The firm said its IT and mobile communications division, which manufactures the smartphones, made an operating profit of 4.27tn won during the period, as revenues in the division surged 86% from a year earlier.

There has been research conducted which suggests demand for smart phones will increase this year and other mobile companies are getting in on the huge market. Samsung’s main rivals are Apple, Nokia and HTC. Apple sold only 35 million handsets this last quarter but that many people believe is down to the anticipated launch of the new phone this summer. When this happens I am sure Samsung’s lead will be cut down or even taken.