Well I will try to counteract some of the Sony bashing, first let me say I have been using $500K sony video cams almost weekly for many years so I am used to using their high-end equipment not their cheap consumer crap.
When I got the DSC-W1 as a gift I was not exactly excited, mind you I had at the time a 3.0mp Canon SD series point and shoot, the sony has handily replaced the canon (I gave the canon to a friend), I find the zeiss glass top notch and basically this is the most important part of the camera. This camera is faster to startup, capture and store photos then my canon was even with the fastest CF card (I am using 512MB sony memory stick pro cards) The shutter lag was very impressive and the quality and night shots are head and shoulders above my canon.
Not to say there is no flaws, but the most immediate thing I saw was that the size was perfect for me as I have largeish hands and even the new SD500 feels like I will drop it at any second.
I don't get the hating on Memory Stick, never had a problem with them and never had one go bad (Cant say the same for CF) plus the prices are close or even a few bucks cheaper then the SD cards. (1GB MS Pro is $60 right now, check SD prices!)
Another consideration is batteries, wait till you have to replace the $45 battery in the canon and of course you will want another $45 backup to use, The AAs that came with the Sony are rechargeable so I have an extra set of radio-shack rechargeable for like $7 and a couple cheap AAs for emergencies and I am never without power or $1 away from power. (Dollar store Dur-Cells haha)
Th best part is the accessories:
these can be added to the camera for macro, telephoto, wide-angle or special effects.
AFAIk you can't add anything to the Canon's so your are SOL if you need something the default lens doesn't offer.
A few things to think about...
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