Samsung has announced its intention to improve its business handset share next year with two appointments to its smartphone team. Their target will be to really push the Samsung line in the UK and related territories.

The manufacturer has brought in Marcus Stone as head of smartphones UK and Ireland, and Nick France as business solutions sales manager, and they’re hoping these hires will move the Samsung up the list of hot companies in the UK, where it’s been erratic in terms of sales for awhile now.

Stone replaces Carl Boraman, who left Samsung in September after just five months in the role. Stone previously held a position at RIM (BlackBerry), where he held several sales and marketing positions during his seven years at the company.

Meanwhile France will be responsible for business-to-business sales within the portfolio, supporting Stone. Both will report to Derek Williamson, Samsung’s general manager.

As they grow more rapidly within the UK smartphone market, they’re already planning to launch even more interesting products in 2009.

According to Samsung, its smartphone market share grew 10.9% in September and October 2008 alone, following the release of the Samsung Omnia. However, the device was hit by reliability and performance problems that have been well documented on various sites.