Laptop Suggestions!

It's been a while since I've been colsulted on advice for purchasing a laptop, so for a 'standard consumer' who won't be gaming or doing any video editing/processing etc.

I always give my standard advise in these situations:

Your spec's not overly important, it's how the laptop feels - are the keys spongey, any non standard layout, does the touch pad feel nice and responsive? - These things can't be changed and if they feel horible the laptops not nice to use. Aside from that spec wise..

Windows 7 Home Premium
2GB RAM

Processor wise? - Is a Core2Duo still the one to go for? - I'm assuming a quad core is still pretty expensive - how does AMD fare in comparison?

Graphics wise - a decent card vs onboard will be beneficial but perhaps out of budget, a HDMI connection would be desirable

So, any other tips? - I'm off to PC world on Satuday lol!