Taiwan’s Acer has become the latest PC-maker to take on Apple’s iPad, unveiling its first electronic reader and touchscreen tablet computer yesterday. Dow Jones Newswires reports that the e-reader – named the ‘LumiRead’ – will launch in the third quarter, while an Android-based touchscreen tablet PC will follow in the fourth quarter. The e-reader has a six-inch display and is equipped with a two-gigabyte flash memory, which will allow the device to store up to 1,500 books, Acer said. It is expected to launch first in the US, China and Germany. The company, the world’s second-largest PC maker by shipments after Hewlett-Packard (HP), has also signed an agreement with US retailer Barnes & Noble to offer more than 1 million book titles.

Acer’s announcement comes after rival PC-maker Dell said earlier in the week it is launching a five-inch tablet computer called Streak that also runs Google’s Android operating system.  The device will make its debut in the UK next month via local operator, O2. In January, Microsoft unveiled a prototype tablet from HP that is expected to launch sometime this year. Such products aim to compete in the market space created by Apple’s iPad, which sold more than 1 million in its first month of sale in the US and is scheduled to be made available in several new international markets from tomorrow.