Samsung Galaxy S III beats iPhone 4S to become no. 1 smartphone

Samsung Galaxy III  became the world's best-selling smartphone model last quarter, pushing aside Apple iPhone, which has dominated the chart for more than two years, research firm Strategy Analytics said on Thursday.

Strategy Analytics estimated Samsung sold 18 million S III models in the third quarter, compared with iPhone 4S sales of 16.2 million.

Strong sales of the flagship Galaxy S III - which comes with a large 4.8 inch touchscreen - helped Samsung post a record $7.3 billion operating profit in the July-September quarter.

"Samsung's Galaxy S III has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia," said analyst Neil Mawston, adding the new iPhone 5 would likely reclaim the top spot for Apple in the current quarter.