Samsung issued a press release for the launch of its popular Galaxy S smartphones in Japan today.  Toward the end of the release, they do a little bragging:

The GALAXY S has been a phenomenal success in the global smart phone market, recording global sales of over 5 million units including more than 2 million units in the United States and more than 1 million units in Korea.

Samsung expects those numbers to grow exponentially with forecasts for five million sold in the U.S. by the end of the year and 10-15 million globally. With the recent launch of the phone in China and now Japan, those numbers seem plausible.

To put that into perspective, the iPhone didn’t reach that run rate until 2009 when it sold just over 20 million units.  But Apple (AAPL) had a full year to reach that number.  Samsung is also approaching that run rate with just one line of their phones.  They also have other Android phones in their lineup, including a new one coming soon on Sprint (without an overlay!).

Samsung will also sell its Android Tablet, called the Galaxy Tab, on all four major U.S. carriers and around the world for the holidays season.