This is basically the integrated graphics version of the P-6831 FX that received our Gold Editors' Choice award, only with a smaller battery and a few other minor changes.
At the low end of the price spectrum, Gateway currently has their 17" P-172X on sale for $750. If you like large notebooks, there are 17" models available that pack a lot of punch. Other combinations are possible, so what it really comes down to is choice. If you want the 1420 and you try to keep the price close to $1000, you have a few options: upgrade the CPU to a T8300 install a Blu-ray drive or perhaps go with a GeForce 8400M GS and 802.11N WiFi. Dell's Inspiron 14 make a comeback, but with a lot more options available. The $1000 model bumps the CPU to a T8300 (Penryn), memory to 3GB, 250GB HDD, 802.11N WiFi, and they add in an ATI Radeon Mobility HD 2600. As an example, the Gateway M Series starts at $600 with a Core 2 T5550, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, and 802.11G WiFi. Upgraded models on many of the budget laptops from Dell, HP, Gateway, etc. We'll look again at the major vendors to see what options are available in this price bracket. All of this naturally comes with a higher price, but outside of graphics performance you can easily find a laptop for around $1000 that can handle just about any application. Sure, the subnotebooks like the Eee PC 901 are smaller, but below around 11.1" keyboard size can become a real concern and you usually get stuck with a lower LCD resolution (1024圆00 or 800x480). You can also get less if you'd like - as in, less weight and a smaller 12.1" chassis. You can get somewhat faster processors, more memory, larger hard drives, perhaps discrete graphics, a larger battery, and/or higher LCD resolution. Entry-level laptops have a lot in common with the budget offerings, and it's basically a story of "more, more, more".