Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently doubled the number of iPad tablets it is building each month to roughly 2 million, according to a research note from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. The news comes amid a sharp jump in the number of competitors entering the tablet market, many of them building devices that run on Google's Android platform.
Apple said earlier this week that it is now able to ship iPads within 24 hours of an order, which could have been made possible by a jump in production capacity. According to Huberty though, Apple wants to boost production even more, and recently indicated to suppliers that it wants to boost capacity to 3 million per month by the fourth quarter. Apple sold 3.27 million iPads during the device's debut quarter.
An Apple spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The list of contenders entering the fray to challenge the iPad and grab a piece of the tablet market seems to be growing by the day. Samsung on Thursday unveiled its Android-powered GalaxyTab. LG has said it will release an Android tablet later this year, as has ZTE and several other companies. Hewlett-Packard has confirmed it will release a webOS tablet early next year, Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is reportedly working on a tablet, and Motorola (NYSE:MOT) has been rumored to be working on its own Android tablet device.
Toshiba is the latest entrant; the company said it will sell its Android-powered, 10.1-inch Folio 100 tablet in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company has not yet decided whether it will release the device in other regions, including the U.S. or Japan, according to the Wall Street Journal.
For more:
- see this AllThingsD post
- see this Business Insider post
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
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