I will be purchasing an X40 of the following configuration before going to college in the fall:

• ThinkPad X40 238611U
• 1.00GHz ULV Pentium M
• 256 MB RAM (planning on upgrading to 512MB or 768MB from Crucial)
• 40GB HDD
• IBM 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter
• ThinkPad X40 Series 8-Cell Li-Ion Battery
• 3 Year ThinkPad Protection with Depot Repair

For the last few weeks, this exact configuration has been going for ~$2,000 on the IBM website. It recently dropped about $10. My question is, will prices continue to drop, and how much will they drop by the end of June? The latest I would want to purchase would be the end of June or beginning of July. I'm not interested in new technology that may be coming out, just the price of this exact configuration. When will Dothan be coming to the X series? How much would that affect prices of older Banias models?

Also, how does the IBM Shareholder Purchase Program or Employee Purchase Program work? Is it a flat discount, or do you have to purchase specific models? How much can I get off through either of those?

Not sure how much they will drop by June someone else will have to answer that.
As for the shareholder discount that applies to any model
Iam currently looking at the model 23718LU wich is 1.2Ghz 51Mb 40Gb
802.11 b/g and bluetooth for $1954
this is through the stockholders program.
check the model you are interested in through your credit card companies website and you can usually save 15%.

You can also use the 5-15% credit card discounts:

Visa card discounts: http://ibm.com/businesscenter/visa
Mastercard discounts: http://ibm.com/businesscenter/mastercard
Discover discounts: http://ibm.com/businesscenter/discover

Regards,
G-Man

You can get your price adjusted if it changes in the 30days after receiving your laptop from IBM. Just call up IBM (the SHOP-IBM number) and ask for an adjustment and they'll refund the difference.

If I just use a VISA to order from the VISA site is it fine or do you have to hold a certain one?

Haha, you got me! I wondered if you were the same budder as on Ars.

Anyways, thanks for all the tips guys. Keep 'em coming. I'll have to look into the credit card discount and the price adjustment policy. I called for a quote and talked the salesman into giving me a 5% discount for being a first time buyer.

I realise this is a bit of a long shot, but I don't suppose anywhere in your calculations you've ever considered getting a quote from Bill? You know, Bill Morrow, the guy that hosts this forum...it might come as a surprise but he actually sells Thinkpads. Oh, you didn't realise...