Speaking at an event in Budapest today, Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci announced that Gateway, a company Acer recently acquired, would be launching a netbook soon. Lanci also said that Acer plans to release updates to its Acer Aspire One lineup, which could include a model with a larger screen.

It’s not clear at the moment what will set the Gateway netbook apart from the Acer Aspire One or other low cost ultraportable laptops. As French news site Blogeee points out, Packard Bell is putting out a new netbook as well – and it looks almost exactly like the Acer Aspire One. Packard Bell was also recently acquired by Asus Acer.

Lanci does seem to believe that netbooks are the future of mobile computing. While laptops were once seen as a second PC to compliment desktops, he says laptops are increasingly becoming primary computers. Netbooks, thanks to their small size and weight are becoming the new laptops – the computers you want to take with you when you leave the house.