I just went and got the Sony HX-20V. I was able to get them down to $305.00 at Bestbuy using an Amazon match. As I use this for moto and various other projects I got the 3 year warranty plan for an additional $80 and for a $34 bundle I got an additional battery, 16gb class 30 SDHC card, and a Lowe Pro case less than the cost of the battery alone at $39, and I was able to substitute the bundle aftermarket battery for a genuine sony. All in all about $450 with tax, so pretty expensive but I think it should work and hopefully hold up well for the upcoming years.
I hope the Bestbuy warranty is good. The Staples one was excellent and no questions asked. I dropped it in a river once and replaced no questions asked.
The only one that looks really comparable is the LX-5 Lumix but I wanted the GPS function just to see exactly where I was when I took the pic. Not sure if its that important but I thought it would be neat to try out especially with all of the desert moto trips we do. I keep the camera in the case on my belt for quick draw. Only thing is sand and dust will likely beat it up I think but we'll see how it holds up.
I didn't want to get any of the tough cameras quite yet mostly because I do want that stellar photo quality, or as best is possible from a point and shoot... But I'll say even my little Canon SX120 and similar have all taken pretty stellar photos for cheapish point and shoots...
I'm going to try the HX20V tonight and I'll post some pics...