Apple Doubling iPad Production

CUPERTINO, California (TheStreet) -- Apple(AAPL) is said to have doubled its iPad production, an effort to meet growing demand -- and, perhaps, to help fend off an impending Google(GOOG) Android tablet onslaught.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty believes that Apple has doubled its iPad "builds" to 2 million tablets a month, a figure which could increase again for the holiday season.

"Apple recently indicated to its suppliers a desire to move to 3 million [iPads a] month in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2010," she explained in a recent note. "This implies a run rate of 36 million in calendar year 2011, close to the current 40 million supply chain forecast."

Launched in a blaze of publicity earlier this year, the iPad has breathed new life into the ailing tablet market, and has already prompted a flurry of activity from rivals such as Google, Motorola(MOT), Hewlett Packard(HPQ) and Cisco(CSCO).

Analyst firm iSuppli, however, recently predicted that it could be 2012 before the iPad faces a truly viable tablet competitor. Apple's iPad will account for an overwhelming 74.1% of global tablet shipments in 2010, according to iSuppli, which predicts that this figure will only slip to 70.4% in 2011. Even in 2012, the iPad is expected to account for 61.7% of tablet shipments.

Apple is experiencing great success with the iPad, which was launched in early April. The consumer tech giant said that it had sold more than 3 million of the devices within its first 80 days, although this figure is now likely much higher -- Steve Jobs did not provide an iPad update during the Apple's iPod launch event earlier this week.