Business

70M Galaxy Q1 blast

Samsung smartphone sales are out of this Galaxy.

The company shipped about 70 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2013, a number that has astounded the industry and highlighted the troubles facing its top rival, Apple.

Samsung smartphone shipments grew 60.7 percent from the year-ago quarter, while Apple’s grew 6.7 percent, according to IDC.

The Korean company’s road to domination is a case study that Apple is following closely — and one that market-watchers say the Cupertino, Calif., company should mimic.

“Samsung is a locomotive that’s only gathering speed as it’s pulling away,” said Kevin Restivo of IDC. “There’s no immediate end in sight to Samsung’s growth.”

Two years ago, Samsung captured only 11.3 percent of the smartphone market and the BlackBerry was still more popular, although in decline.

Now Samsung has embraced a “shotgun” strategy, moving on low-end markets that Apple has yet to fully target.

Samsung accounted for 32.7 percent of smartphone sales last quarter — Apple owned 17.3 percent.

Apple used to be the pacesetter with yearly smartphone refreshes that competitors found hard to match.

Samsung, however, is releasing Galaxy-branded devices now with dizzying frequency.

The Galaxy S4, while facing delays, is launching now in certain markets.

Samsung reported yesterday its first-quarter profit rose 42 percent, to $6.4 billion. Sales were up 17 percent, to $47.6 billion