How to select a digital camera

This is not comprehensive. I simply thought I would relate my experience in selecting a digital camera, so that others might benefit. Basically it is an email exchange, in which I asked a friend, who is knowledgable about photography, for advice on selecting a digital camera. I ended up buying the Olympus XZ-1 (see my review on Amazon; a link to the product is below). I have pasted below the e-mail exchange:

My email to him:

Hey Alex, I just met up with [NAME] for lunch, which reminded me to
solicit your opinion on digital cameras. This one looks good (see
below). But my only worry is that I might be locked in to using Sony's
proprietary memory sticks. What do you think of this camera?

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Still Camera
with 16x Optical Zoom G Lens, 3D Sweep Panorama and Full HD 1080/60p
Video

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HYFX0C/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ohmission-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004HYFX0C

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/sony-cyber-shot-dsc/4505-6501_7-34547260.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody;1r#reviewPage1

His response:

Lucky you -- DPReview just published a comparative test featuring this Sony:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q311travelzoomgrouptest/

You'll see that Canon and Nikon win, and Sony follows close behind. However, I see very little reason to buy ANY of these cameras. I simply see ZERO use for the superzooms of such cameras. I also don't understand why in the world you would need 16MP, or anything above 10MP.

In my opinion, the absolutely BEST compact camera on the market is Olympus XZ-1. Primarily because of it's excellent lens, which allows to take quality pictures in relatively poorly illuminated conditions without the need to bump ISO (which ALWAYS results in noisy pictures).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HO59LK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ohmission-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004HO59LK

BTW, CNet is a terrible place to read camera reviews. You don't want reviews from gadget people, you want reviews from photographers. Here are photographer reviews of XZ-1:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/olympus_xz_1_review.shtml
http://www.outbackphoto.com/CONTENT_2007_01/section_gear_cameras_2011/20110618_Olympus_XZ1/index.html

And here is DPReview take (DPReview is the oldest and probably most reputable photo equipment review site):
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1/