Hi, Deep13. I hope I can finally help you for all the knowledgeable advice you give!

I don't have any personal experience with laptops, but I go to X-bit Labs for reviews on harware. They are amazingly in depth. Maybe there are opinions on what to look for here, but I don't see reviews on IBM, Sony, or Dell

Anyways, they are just doing a survey of 'The best' from 2004, and one category os Notebooks. I imagine results will be out within the next week, and these will be based on programmers, and gamers, opinions.

The poll is here

One thing to keep in mind, is that IBM just announced some restructuring of their desktop and laptop divisions at their factories in Japan. I don't know what all that means, but I read that here: IBM and Lenovo Deal Finalized, IBM’s PC Unit Acquired by Lenovo

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Here are some better reviews:
Top 15 Notebook PCs

This looks really good:
PCMag - LAPTOP & NOTEBOOK FINDER

One thing to keep in mind, is battery life, I would imagine! :O)))