My recommendation would be to go for an IBM/Lenovo T42 or T43 model with: 14.1 inch sxga+ display resolution, 60 gig 7200 rpm hard drive, 512 MB ram (can always add more cheap aftermarket ram later), CDRW/DVDR drive, built in wireless + bluetooth. Also, if battery life is important you can get them with an "extended" 9 cell battery (vs. the regular 6 cell) that sticks out the back a little but is worth it, imo. All that can be had for considerably less than $2,000 and most T series come with a 3 year international warranty (but you have to check about that to be sure as some "express" models only have a one year warranty.

The Thinkpad "T" series are a real pleasure to use and they are relatively rugged and reliable and come with great support from IBM/Lenovo.

If you buy direct from Lenovo, you also get 30 days to return it for any reason (or no reason) at all and sometimes they have very good deals but you will usually have to pay sales tax, so they can often be found cheaper from other online retailers.

Finally, if you know anyone that works at IBM, they can get you the employee family and friends discount which gets you an extra 20% or more off the IBM/Lenovo web price.