Point-and-shoots have a lifetime on the marketplace of about 9 months, there are hundreds of them to choose from and most of them are based on the same components. The quality of the results that you get is limited by the small size of the sensor. Most of the contributors to this forum are enthusiasts who go for systems with larger sensors (Olympus EP-1, Sony NEX, DSLR's).

I just bought a Canon S95 which looks like a Point-and-Shoot but is intended for Experts. It's cleverly designed so that the things you usually need to set (example with a pro DSLR) are available to you without having to plunge into menus. I'm just working my way round it and I should write a review in a few weeks time. I wouldn't recommend for you. It's $400 for a camera which only has 10Mpix and a 3.8x zoom but that's just what I wanted for other reasons..