Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top smartphone maker, said Tuesday that global sales of its Galaxy Note 3 smartphones have surpassed the 10 million mark since its release in late September.

The milestone comes two months earlier than its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 2. It took nine months and four months, respectively, for the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2 to reach the mark, according to Samsung.

The new Galaxy Note 3 phablet, with a 5.7-inch screen, is an upgraded version of the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2.

Samsung has released the device in 58 countries, and sales of the phablet remain high in China and other Asian countries, as well as Europe.

Phablets, a cross between a smartphone and a tablet computer, feature larger displays than smartphones but are more portable than tablets.

The phablet features a 13-megapixel rear camera and runs on Jelly Bean, the latest version of the Android operating system.

Like the previous Galaxy Note models, it comes with a stylus pen, which enables users to write on the display as if on paper.

A noteworthy upgrade in the Note 3 is the Air Command function, which opens up a fan-type menu on any screen that streamlines access to several of the device’s core S Pen functions.

The Galaxy Note 3 runs on the 4G long-term evolution network as well as on the LTE-Advanced network, billed as the world’s fastest.

Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. (Yonhap News)