 Because of overwhelming demand and a manufacturing problem with the blue variant of the phone , there was an extensive shortage of the S III , especially in the United States . Nevertheless , the S III was well @-@ received commercially and critically , with some technology commentators touting it as the " iPhone killer " . In September 2012 , TechRadar ranked it as the No. 1 handset in its constantly updated list of the 20 best mobile phones , while Stuff magazine likewise ranked it at No. 1 in its list of 10 best smartphones in May 2012 . The handset also won the " European Mobile Phone of 2012 – 13 " award from the European Imaging and Sound Association , as well as T3 magazine 's " Phone of the Year " award for 2012 . It played a major role in boosting Samsung 's record operating profit during the second quarter of 2012 . As of November 2012 , the S III is part of a high @-@ profile lawsuit between Samsung and Apple . In November 2012 , research firm Strategy Analytics announced that the S III had overtaken Apple 's iPhone 4S to become the world 's best @-@ selling smartphone model in Q3 2012 . 
