So what did you decide on? I'm currently looking at the Canon Powershot SX210 as well and was wondering if you got to try it and what your thoughts were if you did.
I went to the local best buy and tried out the SX210 and it seemed to take pretty great pictures. Great zoom range, clear crisp photos from any optical zoom and obviously noisier in the digital aspect. The flaws with this camera is that the flash is located in the worst spot in my opinion its so annoying especially if you want to just take out the camera and shoot. Overall I wouldn't purchase this camera myself, and I did not. The SD4000IS seems like a great camera I actually held it in my hands but of course the stores I went to did not have a working model.
As of right now Canon is coming out with some camera I would like to check out (Canon A3300 and a few more) so I asked my sister to take her Sony with me that I know is pretty good. But, to recommend a camera I would go with the SD4000IS for its great reviews, and the Canon PowerShot S95 I tested out this camera and its a great little fast point and shoot.