laptops

I need to buy my wife an anniversary / eid gift. You might think that buying one gift for two occasions was a very trifty decision on my part but rest assured it will not cheap, specially in Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact I have decided to buy her a laptop, depending on how things go I might even buy my brother the same one. Finding a good laptop is no easy decision. I went through all of the regular sites like cnet and pcworld and came up with a list of 5 laptops that I think I should be able to afford without burning a hole in my wallet. Here is the list

1. Gateway T-6836 $649
2. Dell Inspiron 1525 $649 - available at Jarir bookstore
3. DELL XPS M1210 Notebook $599
4. DELL Inspiron 1720 $750
5. Dell Inspiron 1420 $599
6. HP Pavilion dv2915nr $699

Now, the order of preference is there but I seriously doubt that I will be able to find a Gateway computer here. I remember a time when gateway was a joke, I wouldn't even consider using one if it was given to me as a gift but they have done a really good job at re inventing them selves. There is something to be said about brand re-invention. Apple did it, Motorola needs it and Gateway is doing it. The dell Inspiron is available at a local store but I don't know what the price of it will be, I know the price on the Dell website and if I have to pay about $200 more I will be fine with it, but if they charge me $1000 for something that's worth $649 I will probably have to re evaluate my options. I will update this posting when I get the price from Jarir.