Samsung Galaxy S3 beats iPhone 4S as most pre-ordered gadget in history

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has already received nine million pre-orders before launch – even with few people getting to play on Android’s latest smartphone until it arrives in the UK on May 29. In the history of gadgets, none has picked up such an army of fans before launch. It is estimated that when the phone hits the market, it will instantly become the fastest selling gadget in history, beating out the iPhone 4S’s four million units sold in three days. It also tops the first iPad’s two million tablets in two months, and the Microsoft Kinect system – which allows you to wave at your television via the Xbox 360 games console – which shifted 2.5 million units in 25 days. Samsung has reportedly hired 75,000 workers to keep up with the demand, with the company confident of meeting all pre-orders. The company is said to have the capacity to churn out five million phones per month – or 66 phones per worker per month. Most of the orders will have come through network carriers across the world, based on customer pre-orders, upgrades and anticipated demand. The carriers will have pre-allocated the majority of this stock to customers, with a surplus to act as a ‘buffer’ in case demand exceeds their supply. In the UK, Carphone Warehouse has confirmed that the S3 is the most popular phone of the year so far, with thousands of customers lined up to pick up their phone a week from today. Spokesman Graham Stapleton said: ‘Pre-order demand for the new Galaxy S3 has surpassed expectations since the handset was first unveiled two weeks ago. ‘The first 24 hours alone saw thousands placing their pre-order at Carphone Warehouse.’ The S3′s predecessor – the Galaxy S2 – took about six months to sell 10million phones, and 11 months to sell 20million.