Steve Jobs is probably feeling a little vindicated right now, after telling everyone off last week, particularly those investors that were whining about $5 share price drops instead of looking at the long-term value of Apple. The companies shares rose again this week with the Apple iPad’s sales exceeding initial projections, also calling for new estimates for the next few months of tablet production.

Apple saw a 3.7 percent increase after net income went up by 78 percent, setting a few precedents for both the iPad and the iPhone. Consumer demand for the devices continues to soar, despite Antennagate or questionable security methods for the popular Apple products. From Bloomberg,

“Apple rose 3.7 percent to $261.29 after reporting results for the first quarter to include sales of the iPad tablet computer and the latest iPhone. Apple said yesterday that revenue in the three months that end in September will be about $18 billion. Analysts had predicted sales of $17 billion.”

For Apple, this means more resources will be allocated for production and research around improving with upcoming releases. iSuppli doesn’t think Apple’s production will be able to keep up with the demand, with analyst Rhoda Alexander noting that “Apple’s acceleration of its component demand indicates that the company has raised its iPad production target for 2010…our latest research indicates there is much higher production than previously expected for two key components: LCD panels and NAND flash.”

This leaves room for competitors to appeal to the growing consumer demand around tablet devices with specific features, many of which overlap with highly-requested smart phone perks. HP has been anxious to get its tablet out to market, with the Android platform becoming a more viable contender against Apple’s iOS.

Utilizing a cross-device approach to appeal to niche consumer groups, Microsoft is looking to play more competitively against Apple as well. Aside from testing Windows 7 this week, Microsoft has forged a deal with MovieTickets.com. This will let you purchase theater tickets from your Xbox Live dashboard, using your phone (likely Windows 7-powered) as the segue between offline and online worlds. Similarly to Android, Microsoft is targeting the entertainment industry for early platform moves.