Canon A710 IS vs. S3 IS

[WesternGuy]

My wife has decided she would like a digital camera and I thought that this would be a nice Christmas gift. I showed some of the ones available in one of those Canon flyers that came with the newspaper. She decided that either the A710 IS or the S3 IS would be the one for her, with a slight lean towards the S3. I would like to ask the folks here if anyone has experience or insight into one or both of these and what people's experiences have been. Any insight that anyone would care to provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

WesternGuy

[Mr Yuck]

A710 has the size advantage (it's smaller)

But the S3 IS is just plain amazing.
--about twice the zoom
--faster shooting speed (2.5fps vs the 1.7fps of the A710)
--rotating LCD screen (protection from scratches, shooting at strange angles, self portraits, etc)
--4x AA batteries vs 2x, so flash charging and image rendering should be faster and battery life is slightly better.

Also, the A710 has that stupid 2 piece lens cover that, after a year might stop opening all the way on its own... I dont know how many quick shots have been messed up by that on my A510. (maybe they fixed it by the 710 series)

[WesternGuy]

Thanks Mr. Yuck. Appreciate the insight.

WesternGuy