Taiwan's Acer Inc., the world's second-largest personal computer vendor, announced on Friday that it would launch a series of tablet computers running the Windows operating system next month to expand its mobile device offerings. 'We are going to launch the Windows tablet computers in November and Android tablet computers in the first quarter of 2011, ' Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said at the company's quarterly investor conference held in Taipei. Acer President and CEO Gianfranco Lanci predicted the company could achieve a 15 to 20 percent global market share in the tablet computer segment in 2011 based on Acer's current 18 percent share of the global notebook market. The computer maker is hoping to cash in on the success of Apple's iPad in recreating a market for tablet computers. Dell, Samsung, RIM (Research in Motion) , and Hewlett-Packard have already introduced their own tablet models, but Acer is likely to become the first Taiwanese manufacturer to launch a device in the segment. The company is scheduled to introduce its first line of tablet computers on Nov. 23. The new mobile devices will retail for between US$299 and US$699. On the same day, Acer will also start open its online software 'Next Generation Store, ' which is aimed at attracting developers to the platform and cooperating with 10 to 20 telecom operators worldwide by the end of 2011. Acer hoped the new initiatives would sustain the momentum created by its strong third quarter, when operating income set a record quarterly high of NT$5.28 billion, up 11 percent from a year earlier. The company expected fourth-quarter sales to rise 5-10 percent quarter-on- quarter, and it projected that sales would grow another 10-15 percent and shipments would grow by 25-30 percent to 55 million desktop and notebook computers next year. 