Laptop screen specs and readability

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new laptop to replace my old Gateway which I love - it's 1024x768, XGA 4:3 display. Display is the most important spec for me.

I just began researching laptop specs - whew! So please bear with me and correct me if I've misunderstood things. The different factors are a little confusing - XGA vs WXGA; aspect ratios, actual screen size, etc.

Here are the specs I want -

1. $700 or lower price range

2. Matte screen preferred, for doing a lot of work with text, not so much multimedia, but I guess at this price point glossy is the only option?

3. 15" screen as I have now - the size of text is PERFECT for me with not so great eyesight. I see that there's no option for 4:3 anymore, only 16:10 and even that will be gone soon.

My question is - if I get the WXGA glossy screen, as most laptops at this price point seem to be, will the readability be comparable to what I have now? And what about the difference in aspect ratios between 16:10 and 16:9...

I borrowed an older Dell Inspiron B120 14.1" widescreen 1280x800, looks like a matte screen, but it hurt my eyes terribly - text was too small, and increasing the text size in Firefox just looks awful.

I'm disabled and can't get to stores to look at different screens, so all I'm giong by is this 14.1 screen - would the 15.4" make a significant difference even though it's widescreen? I understand that higher resolution means smaller text, and that's what I'm concerned about with these 1280X800 displays. I'm not concerned about having less width - screen height is more important for web browsing.

Other specs are not that critical - I want a good processer, I do a little Photoshop but no gaming or other great demands on a processor. Vista Home Premium, and at least 2G memory.

I've looked at Dell - seems to be 16:9. Lenovo is a possibility, some say it doesn't handle Vista well (slow bootup)? Gateway M series looks good, but I don't see customer reviews.

So if it says 15.4" screen that means it's 16:10 not 16:9? And the difference in readability could be significant?

The other possibility is to see if my current Gateway will hold out until next year so I could get a Windows 7 machine. (I'm not up for upgrading an OS myself). Or by that time would my choices of 16:10 screens be even slimmer?

Thanks!
Karen