Anything better than A710IS at < $300?

I'm helping my parents buy a digicam for under $300. Dad says that they have Canon service centers back home, so I looked at Canon's digicams and saw the A710IS. Features look nice, and online reviews are very complimentary. Is there a better choice for under $300? Oh, and Dad likes the grip on it instead of the flat surface of other compacts, and the size is just right--not to big, not too small.

What aside from the price and grip are they interested in, feature-wise? Lots of zoom? Manual controls? Video capabilities?

Video is a nice bonus, but this digicam will be mainly for quick and easy snaps--the manual controls will probably go unused. I think the 6x of the A710IS is enough zoom for them. I would say the main criteria are (based on what my dad said he liked about the A710IS):
- under $300 (hard ceiling)
- easy to use
- takes good pictures (yeah, extremely vague, I know)
- decent ergonomics (no gripless bricks)
- pocket-able
- non-proprietary batteries if possible

I personally think the IS is a great feature that they might not appreciate but will help them take better photos. We got to use an A570IS in the store, which AFAIK is pretty much an A710IS with a different, shorter zoom lens. Dad's only complaint was that the back LCD wasn't very sharp, but that's about it.

Then just go with the A710. Doesn't have the flip-out screen I like in the 600s, but the only IS model that does is the G7.

The A710IS has a quite capable video mode for short clips. Overall very nice camera IMHO. My daughter loves hers and could have afforded any one she wanted. (Wish she would lend mom some money) LOL

I think the A710IS is the best sub $300 camera ever. It is packed with features for that price.

Best price I've found is at buy.com