Samsung had a pretty good day. It announced that it sold five million Galaxy Note units, which is nothing less of impressive, considering that the 5.3-inch Note is a road opening device, dismissed by many as a freakish mongrel with no chances of survival in the unforgiving tech jungle.

But the Galaxy Note proved pundits wrong. Customers seem to love it. Elephants seem to like it, too. Thanks to the Note and its other star devices, Samsung is the number one smartphone seller in several huge markets, including South Korea (where it owns a whopping two thirds of the market), China, France, or Spain.

The good figures of the Note, combined with consistent performance from the Galaxy S2 (which keeps selling like hot cakes, in spite of the much hyped coming of the Galaxy S3) and mid-tier devices, give Samsung a shot at breaking its own sales record.

As UnwiredView’s Stasys Bielinis notes, citing the Korean ET News outlet, Samsung will probably sale between 40 and 44 million smartphones in the first quarter of the 2012, which is about to end in a couple of days. Unfortunately (for tech bloggers), Samsung stopped reporting its sales figures for smartphones, so, we all we have are estimates. But if the guesses are any good, it means that Samsung has enjoyed a fantastic beginning of year.

Note that Q1 is traditionally a weaker period for tech sales, simply because most people have already squandered their disposable income during the winter holidays. So even matching the previous quarter’s performance (36 million units) would be a nice performance for Sammy. But ET News claims that the Korean behemoth will sell between 4 and 8 million units more this season. Not bad.

50 million smartphones sold in three months? The Galaxy S3 can make it happen

If you think the estimated sales figures for Sammy’s first quarter are impressive, you’ll be blown away by the estimates for the next quarter – 50 million smartphones is within reach, says ET News.

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock (a very remote one), there is a huge amount of excitement floating around the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3. People are genuinely excited about Samsung’s next flagship handset, and all clues seem to indicate that the S3 will sell like crazy.

According to a tweet from industry legend Eldar Murtazin, the preorders for the Galaxy S3 (from carriers and retailers, don’t worry, you haven’t miss it) have reached record levels. Samsung will most likely try a concerted release, trying to make the most of the huge mindshare it’ll get from the Olympic marketing blitz (the Koreans are one of the biggest sponsors of the Games). This would avoid the problems that plagued the release of the Galaxy S2 (which needed many months to reach the hottest market in the world, the United States).

Speaking of the S2, we know that it sold very well, in spite of all the release problems – 20 million units, according to Samsung’s last public milestone, in February. We can expect the new Galaxy S3 to top that. Plus, keep in mind that, for many customers, this summer will mark the end of the two-year contracts signed for the Samsung Galaxy S, which will probably give another boost to the sales of Samsung’s next superphone.

If everything goes smoothly (we see no reason why it wouldn’t), the next three months could bring Samsung the incredible 50 million sales figure. With the Galaxy Note selling faster than anyone expected, the Galaxy S3 coming out in force in just a few weeks, and a slew of mid-range devices flooding huge markets like China, the record-shattering 50 million smartphones is within Sammy’s grasp.

Just to see how fast the smartphone tsunami is moving, consider that Samsung has probably sold more smartphones in March than it sold in the entire first quarter of 2011. Here’s a table showing the evolution of Samsung smartphone sales over the last year.

What do you think?