Samsung Electronics Co has received some 9 million pre-orders for its Galaxy S III smartphone from more than 100 global carriers, Reuters reported citing the Korea Economic Daily.

Samsung toppled Apple as the world's biggest smartphone maker in the first quarter, helped by its line-up of Galaxy named devices running on Google's free Android software.

The latest version of its flagship phone, unveiled this month, will first go on sale on May 29 in Germany before being rolled out to other countries.

The newspaper, which cited an unidentified Samsung official, also said the company's smartphone factory in South Korea was running at its full capacity of 5 million units per month. Samsung declined to comment.

It said late last month that the new Galaxy S smartphone would "substantially contribute" to its second-quarter earnings.