I had a laptop previously.

It was just a p4 centrino with 80gb HDD 1g Ram but was light as a feather. 12" widescreen aswell. Was perfect for what I needed (read: wanted) a laptop for. Sitting on the couch infront of the TV surfing the net instead of in the study sitting at my desk.

If you need a laptop for work, then maybe look at leasing one, as when lease period expires you can upgrade to a current model. Could be a good idea?