everyone should have santa rosa based machines by then, if price is a big concern then look for dell deals, its not uncommon to find 25% or mroe off of any inpirion, which often makes them teh best deals for the money (though I am not that impressed with the build quality of inspirions and probably would not buy one again (though an xps or latitude might be viable).
Also you have to be more specific for best laptop. Do you want a gaming laptop? A mobile workstation? A media center? A thin and light? ... One persons best laptop might be a 10 pound monster with 45 minutes of battery life that can run crisis at 1900x1200, while someones else's might be a 3 pound featherweight that has a 6+ hour battery life.