What is the best digital camera in the $250 range?

This is from consumer reports
Cost $250

Olympus C-5500 Sport Zoom

RECOMMENDATIONS & NOTES
Very good overall. Excellent battery life. Has special scene modes (sport, beach & snow, fireworks, sunset, candle, and available light portrait). Can fix red-eye in flash photos in the camera.

FEATURES
The following features are among the most important in determining whether this model will meet your needs.

GENERAL FEATURES

Maximum Aperture f2.8-4.8

Shutter Range 15-1/2000

Exposure Compensation Yes

Camera Connections A/V out, DC in, USB

Flash Modes Auto-flash mode, Forced-off flash mode, Forced-on flash mode, Red-eye reduction, SloSync mode, Second curtain sync mode

Manual controls Yes

Manual Focus No

Macro focus Yes

Movie mode Yes, with optional sound

Secure grip Yes

Charger No

AA batteries Yes

Wide angle No

Image stabilizer Yes

EDITING/VIEWING

LCD size (in.) 2

Viewfinder Yes

Optical zoom 5X

35mm Equivalent Zoom Ratio 38-190

Still Image File Formats JPEG

Eyeglasses No

MEMORY/STORAGE

Storage Type xD-Picture Card

Storage Size (MB) 16

RESOLUTION

Megapixels (MB) 5

Still Image Resolution Settings 2592 x 1944, 2288 x 1712, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480

Sensor Type CCD

Well, besides price what other features are you long looking for. How many megapixels do you want and what kind of zoom power are you looking for. Are you looking for something with a 3x optical zoom or something more powerful with a 10x zoom. If a 3x zoom suits your needs then I like the 8MP Dimage X1 with a 3x optical zoom and a 2.5 inch display. If you want something with a 10X zoom then the Olympus C770 ultra zoom with 4MP should be perfect.

There really is not one best digital camera, it depends on what you are looking for in it.