Digital Camera Shopping

Okay. So I'm looking for purchase my first, personal digital camera. Sure i've used the family one before, but this one is going to be my own (im moving up in the world -.-). Anyway, I'm willing to spend anywhere up to like $250 on one. I've found a few that look pretty good, but I know nothing about cameras; here's what i found:

Nikon Coolpix S550 - $199 @ Circuit City (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...9.html?tag=sub)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS20 - $199 Circuit City (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...tag=prod.txt.1)

Are these any good? I'm really looking at a sleek & slim pocket camera. I dont need anything big time, just a camera that takes good pictures whenever i need it too. Thanks in advance! :D

What kinds of things do you usually take pictures of? Or what would you like to take pictures of? Is it going to mostly be snapshots or do you have any larger aspirations? As far as pocket cameras go, the Canon PowerShot SD series are probably the most popular, with Sony's T-Series in second place.

Take a look at these two cameras:

Canon PowerShot SD870 IS >>
Sony Cybershot DSC-T70 >>

I'm not a big fan of the lenses on the Sony T-Series cameras. But the overall design is really nice.

Canon PowerShot SD870 IS is good choice.