Although much of the tech news bandwidth has been consumed with chatter about the Apple iPhone 5, Samsung has shipped 10 million Android-powered Galaxy S IIs smartphones — before touching foot on U.S. soil. Many expect the Samsung v. Apple battle to be the cage fight of cellular titans.

“In just five months the Galaxy S II has seen tremendous growth,” Samsung announced over the weekend. The smartphone was launched in April. Speculation is the S II and the Apple iPhone 5 will offer similar features. The new Apple handset is expected to include a unibody construction, and 8-megapixel camera.

There are some provisos to Samsung’s statement. The South Korean company mentions shipments of the Galaxy S II rather than sales. Apple sold 20 million of its iPhone 4 during the second quarter of 2011. The iPhone 4 is more than a year old.

The battle between the Samsung and Apple smartphones could be a mirror of its current legal battles that stretch across the globe.