Samsung Electronics, maker of the Galaxy mobile phone, may have surpassed Nokia and Apple in smartphone sales for the first time on demand for devices that run on Android software, a research company said.

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it estimates weaker second-quarter earnings, as its liquid crystal display business likely posted its second straight quarterly loss due to slumping demand for televisions and personal computers.

"Common sense suggests that allegations of copying are necessarily directed at Apple's existing products, to which Samsung has access and could potentially mimic," said US District Court Judge Lucy Koh, "and not at Apple's unreleased, inaccessible, next-generation products."

Samsung is a big beneficiary of Android's rise, selling more than 3 million Galaxy S phones, and capturing the mantle as leading Android handset provider in the U.S. by accounting for a third of all Android phones sold in the country.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's top mobile carrier, is aggressively promoting rival smartphone offerings such as Samsung Electronics' Galaxy handset.

The independent consumer watchdog magazine scored smartphones based on voice quality, ease of use, battery capacity, camera quality and other criteria.

Samsung Electronics said that three million out of its seven million global Galaxy S smartphones shipments were made to the United States since it launched the phone here in July.

Unlike its rivals, Samsung doesn't have another flagship phone planned for the crucial holiday season, and will rely solely on its Galaxy S lineup and the upcoming Galaxy Tab tablet, which analysts say could hurt its ability to get carrier support.

Samsung is bucking the predominant one-carrier-per-phone model with its Galaxy S smartphone. It will spend much of this year launching multiple versions of its new flagship smartphone around the world.