Samsung said that sales of its Galaxy S series smartphones have passed 100 million, following the launch of the first incarnation (pictured) in June 2010.

According to the company, more than 40 million of the latest Galaxy S III have shipped to its sales channels, and having hit 20 million sales in 100 days, became the company’s fastest selling smartphone to date.

The Galaxy S line has gained momentum with each release: Samsung said the first device sold more than 24 million, the Galaxy S II reached “around 40 million”, and the latest is at 40 million and is still fairly current.

Research firm Strategy Analytics said that the Galaxy S III was the fastest selling smartphone in the third quarter of 2012, usurping Apple’s iPhone – although this was before availability of the iPhone 5, which will have proved a strong challenger in the last quarter of the year.

Unlike Apple, Samsung also offers a range of smartphones targeting customers at different price points.  This is likely to see it increasing its global market share to 33 percent in 2013, up from 31 percent in 2012, according to the analyst firm’s forecast.