The popular auction website has reported that sales of Android smart phones have risen by 119 per cent over the last month, suggesting that customers are trying to sell off their old models before the new flagship Android device is released later this week.
A spokesman for eBay said: “We’ve noticed a real trend in consumer selling for a tech ‘upgrade’, but this is the first time anything other than an Apple product has sparked such a selling frenzy. With the launch of the Galaxy S3 on the horizon, Brits that want to keep up with the latest tech trends have learnt that they can help fund their new purchase by selling an unwanted previous model to raise some cash.”
The eBay report also shows that sales of Apple’s iPhone have increased in the past month, although only by 45 per cent, showing that many Apple customers are less likely to make the switch to the new Android device.
The UK retailer, Carphone Warehouse, last week revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S3 is their most pre-ordered phone of 2012 so far, with “thousands” of customers ordering the new device. It is estimated that around 9 million S3's have so far been preordered.
Fred Huet, founder of Greenwich Consulting said of the device: “The mobile industry and consumers alike have been crying out for a genuine challenger to the iPhone, and while Nokia and several others have given it a good go, they have ultimately failed. Samsung appears to be the strongest contender, as it combines excellence in hardware with the ever-popular Android OS.
"The fact that the S3 has been the most popular pre-order phone of the year is a strong indication that the iPhone’s dominance of this market may genuinely be under threat. With its impressive specifications, the S3 is arguably the phone which Nokia wishes it had built.”
The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be released on May 30th, although those who have pre-ordered the device will be able to pick up the phone a day earlier.
