As already stated, for your needs any �300 laptop will do.
Decide on how you need to use it:
Will you be carrying it around a lot? If so, you need a lighter laptop with a smaller screen. In not, get the biggest screen you can afford
Is the keyboard comfortable?
Does it have enough USB ports?
Must it have a dvd player?
Do you want a built in web cam?
Vista, XP or Linux?
Will it be your only pc, or will you have a desktop as well?
Whatever you decide, don't be guided by the colour - you can buy perfectly good skins for very little money:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=pi nk+laptop+skins&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvad id=3150848713&ref=pd_sl_9a5yjcbmke_e