I just picked up a new base 17" and like it so far.
I'm not a glossy screen person, so that was a leap of faith. So far I don't regret it. The matte just looked more grey than white, and the text and overall image just wasn't as sharp for some reason.
Can't wait to put 8GB of ram in this thing later this summer...
I'd always bought 15" in the past, so, lol, it figures as soon as the come out with 1680x1050 I go off and get a 17" 1920x1200. The price cuts on the 17" over the years helped to, I think the base 17" was $2700 not that long ago...