Hmm, on the HP thing, it was traced back to a motherboard design problem on the dv2000 series. Hopefully that would have been resolved with the new HP models and them phasing out the dv2000 series. Anyway, I have found an HP unit and a Vaio unit with similar specs and a price difference of about $50. So I have my eye on those two. Its not that I have a choice you know, with a proper Dell center cannot be found here and these two being the only ones with an actual showroom and service centers here, I'd rather choose them than rely on third party services with their crappy service and sometimes they cheat on you as well.
Although I found a Lenovo center here. Checking the net, apparently the only ones with showrooms and service centers here are HP, Sony, Lenovo and Acer. I've no experience with Lenovo as almost everyone I know uses an Acer. However I would prefer one with an office accessible to me.