Earlier this year I bought a Dell Precision M4300. I put everything on it available (bluetooth, EVDO, the super duper high res screen, etc) because I typically live on my gear for four or five years so the extra money is not a big deal. What stinks is that by the time I buy another machine a machine equivalent to this one will probably sell for five hundred or so.
My wife is a teacher and it seems that I am the computer guru of the school so I've been being asked what people should buy. Frankly I can't believe the great choices that are available. These are the three choices I'd recommend to people who want something for basic work (web surfing, word processing, email) not development or heavy duty stuff like video editting:
First, what I think is one of the coolest toys available:Inspiron Mini 9
The screen is really small, but if you want something to throw in you bag so you can twitter from Barnes and Noble I don't see how this is a bad choice. I would max out the memory though, and don't expect Vista to be speedy.
Second, the Inspiron 1525. Bigger screen so you can do more serious work. It is a little bit heavier and you will need a real laptop bag for this one. Again, max out the memory (RAM).
Third, the Studio 15 laptops are pretty cool. My mother just bought one of these and it is very nice. It is fast enough to handle most stuff. You might even be able to handle some light video editting without pulling out all of your hair. Max out the memory as usual.
I think it is cool that you can customize the cases.
What got me started on this was a friend asked what they should buy. She wanted a laptop for her daughters and had a budget of fifteen hundred dollars. I looked around and saw that she could get two of the Studio 15 laptops and not blow her budget. Having two daughters in my house I know that sharing stuff is not the path of peace and quite. Two laptops is the hallmark of wisdom.
There are other choices out there, but right now I'm quite happy with Dell's products.