I just bought a Dell 9300 in US.
I have to say US is still the cheapest in the world.
And I say Dell is still the cheapest notebook in the market, considering the parts they put inside the notebook.

Pent-M 750/1.86 GHz, 533MHz FSB
XP Pro
17" WUXGA (J9662 LG), 1920x1200
1GB DDR2 RAM
GPU: Nvidia GeForce Go 6800, 256MB
HD: 60GB 7200rpm by Hitachi/IBM
8x (DVD+/-RW) Dual Layer by Sony
Intel Wireless 2915 (a,b,g)
9-cell Battery
Wireless 350 Bluetooth by Toshiba
1-year warranty

This package adds up to almost US$3000, but with Dell Discount Coupons from internet, my totals comes to US$2027

Overall, I am happy with this notebook, but the screen is not as good as the Sony X-brite. The keyboard and TouchPad is not as good as the IBM Thinkpad. But with this price, no real complaints.