Awesome! We have the exact same camera--I have a A590IS also and it's almost 4 years old. It's a nice little camera, but there are some things that annoy me. Instead of buying a new point and shoot, I'm saving up for a low end DSLR.
So, I'd think about your old camera and what you liked/didn't like about it. My two major issues with mine are: (1) the tiny zoom and (2) low-light pictures. I don't know about you, but it seems like whenever I use my camera, the lighting has to be perfect, or the picture won't turn out.
My dad just got a Canon Powershot SX130 IS last summer. It's a high end point and shoot. I personally like it a lot better than the A590--it's got a great zoom (12x!) and takes much better low light (it even has a special setting for it). It also has a lot of really cool modes, but has an Automatic, Program and Manual mode like the A590 (I use those most often). The only thing it doesn't have that the A590 does is a viewfinder, but then again, it's getting much harder to find a camera that does these days. It's LCD screen is big to make up for it. Oh, and since this model has been out for a year, you can get a good price on it ($140 on Amazon). My dad paid $200 for it when he bought it, but the model was still very new. It's a happy medium--buy a model too early and you pay too much for it, buy it too late after it's been discontinued and you also pay too much for it. (The A590 IS is currently $400 on Amazon)
And as I'm sure you will find, some people are just Canon people and some people are just Nikon people. They both make good cameras. I personally have had great experience with my Canon, so I won't be switching loyalties.
You really should check out the SX130 IS though. It takes great pictures and I would buy it myself if I didn't already have a point and shoot camera. I find myself wishing that I would break mine, so I'd have an excuse to upgrade.
It's going to be while before I have enough money for that DSLR!
Camera recommendations?
