I think it’s safe to say that the iPhone 4S was anything but the disappointment some bloggers and analysts originally expected. There’s endless articles on how much of a success Apple’s latest smartphone has been and demand has been so strong, in fact, rumors are now spouting that other handset manufacturers are pushing their phone launches until at least the Q2 2012.

For their sake, hopefully the iPhone hype will cool down a bit by then. According to a report from DigiTimes, vendors from around the globe including Samsung, HTC, Nokia, and LG have pushed their finest new devices further into the year to avoid being slammed with the iPhone effect — that is, millions of people buying Apple handsets while other phone makers struggle to gain any spotlight and therefore any sales.

These four manufacturers all plan to unveil their new devices for 2012 at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, taking place February 27th to March 1st. Though that is within the first quarter, the companies aren’t expected to start shipping any new devices until later in the year.

I wouldn’t doubt that popular Android and Windows Phone vendors are scared of Apple — they should be. Apple reported it sold 37 million iPhones last quarter and brought in $46 billion in revenue. There’s plenty of reasons to fear a company that sells 37 million of any gadget within three months.