Samsung – the industry’s second-largest mobile device manufacturer – today announced aggressive plans to increase sales this years, with a particular focus on smartphones. According to a Financial Times (FT) report, the South Korean vendor forecast that its shipment of conventional mobile handsets will be more than double that of the industry this year. Samsung sold 227 million mobile phones last year including six million smartphones and it aims to increase handset shipments this year to about 270 million units. In the smartphone space, the FT article notes that Samsung aims to treble its smartphone shipments in 2010 by expanding its portfolio. The company lags rivals in the smartphone market with only about 3 percent market share, against Nokia’s 35 percent and Apple’s 17 percent.

Samsung said it plans to deliver the biggest portfolio of smartphones to the market this year, supporting various operating systems such as Google’s Android as well as its own platform bada. Last month rival LG, the industry’s third-largest player, reiterated its goal of shipping 140 million devices this year, a 19 percent increase on 2009, which would help it achieve its ambition to usurp Samsung’s position. LG said it will focus on improving profitability in developed markets and expanding its market share in emerging markets, while also strengthening its smartphone range.