For $1888 you can get this Dell (similar to the one a lot of multitablers, inc myself, have):

I don't see an option fo Windows XP, so if Dell can't do anything then I guess you'll either have to bite the bullet and stick with Vista, or reinstall XP. Point is, this machine will easily last 5+ years of daily use, by which time XP will probably no longer be supported by MS, so you may as well stay with Vista and get used to it (ie learn how to disable the features that annoy you).

My Components
SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition edit
DISPLAY High Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920 x 1200) edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT edit
MEMORY 3GB, DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (1GB x 2GB) edit
HARD DRIVE Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) edit
OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive) edit
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card edit
INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Webcam Option edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell) edit
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0 edit
My Software & Accessories
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-months edit


OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD edit

if you don't have a copy of MSOffice add $149:
Dell Recommends
Need Excel, Word and Powerpoint? Upgrade to Microsoft Office H&S 2007 today.
Upgrade to Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 - Word, Excel + PowerPoint [add $149 or $5/month1]
COLOR COORDINATED BAGS Jet/Cabernet Belkin 17" Messenger Case edit
My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor,24x7 Phone Support edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Free 3 GB Online Backup for 1Yr edit
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Labels Windows Vista™ Premium
Processor Branding Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
DOMS Camera Mod Basic Black Matte LCD back color w/o Camera
Miscellaneous Inspiron 1720
PHOTO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE No Entertainment software pre-installed

As I'm not in the US I can't easily find out about coupons etc. I chose a black machine + black bag for you cos I guess that's the most balla colour, but there are many other colours available.

Oh and the thing to do is order it by phone, not online - you can sometimes persuade them to knock a bit extra off or include something for free if you impress on them how much you're spending and what a loyal customer you are etc.

use OpenOffice and save the money.