Help on finding a good traveling laptop

[StarControl]

I'm going to be traveling a lot over the next 3 months on residency interviews, and I can't afford to be without email for the 3-4 days that I may be gone. So I'm looking for a good, cheap laptop to use when I'm away. I'd like to do just basic email, websurfing and maybe playing some basic games. I'm looking at Dell right now, but is there any particular type I should be looking at or any other companies? Thanks!