The Panasonic I posted before is a p&s with 28-280mm equiv lens (wider than most to longer than most). Also since Panasonic bought Leica, there optics have improved immensely.
If you want something smallish but seriously good quality grab a Leica d-lux3 off digital rev for $870 delivered. Nothing short of an SLR will touch it.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Leica-D-LUX-3...713.m153.l1262