First thing you should do is check out
Invalid Link Removed and
Steve's Digicams. You can do comparisons, check out reviews, see sample pictures, etc. on those sites.
Now about those two cameras .... I bought my son the previous Canon (A710IS) and love it. I often ask to borrow it when I just want to "take pictures" (as opposed to taking my Digital Rebel XTi when I want to do "photography"). It's a nice little camera, decent image quality for the price, effective image stabilization, pretty good movie mode for an inexpensive still camera (handy for short and spontaneous clips, but won't replace a real videocamera), and the 6x OPTICAL zoom on a camera in that price range was impossible to beat. I'm seriously considering getting an A720IS for myself since they're about $75 cheaper than the one I bought my son last June. I have two main gripes with it. First, it only uses two AA batteries (though I LOVE being able to use AA's rather than a proprietary battery) and recharging after a flash shot can be slow. Also, you can compose in the viewfinder but you get no info in it. You more or less have to use the LCD screen to take shots, which I don't like. I get steadier shots when the camera is close in rather than being held out so I can see the display. Still, it's a really nice camera for the price, especially when you factor in FULL MANUAL controls. The combination of control and optical zoom make it a tough package to beat (at least the A710IS, I hope the A720IS has the same or better image quality) and the size is still pretty small and light. There are also much smaller and lighter models but they won't have the features. It depends what's important to you.
I've never used the Fuji S7000, however I do have the S9000 and that's a VERY different camera. I remember correctly the S7000 was similar to the S9000, though an older model. It won't be a carry-it-in-your-pocket kind of camera, it's much closer to a dSLR in terms of size, weight, price, and features. However, it's still got a small sensor like a pocket-sized camera and may or may not give you noticeably better image quality. It doesn't have IS, and claims to improve low-light performance with higher ISO but then you get a grainy picture. I'd prefer IS. I REALLY like the 10x (optical) zoom on it. With a monopod I was able to get some really nice action shots of my son's soccer games even at full zoom.
That being said, I really do like my S9000, but now that I have a dSLR and a few decent lenses, I'm planning to sell my S9000 and replace it with the A720IS. That way I can cover both needs well - practicing photography and simply taking pictures.
Also, don't get hung up on how many megapixels of resolution the camera has, especially on a point and shoot kind of camera. A 6 megapixel camera does not automatically suck because a competitor has a similar model with 7 megapixels. The sensor in these cameras is very small and packing increasing numbers of pixels onto those small sensors gives impressive sounding numbers that a sales staff can exploit to sell units, but it does NOT necessarily give you a better picture. They can even get noisier than a camera with lower resolution and look worse. Make sure you instead focus on image quality and you'll be much better off.
And as others have said, digital zoom is USELESS so don't fall for any sales pitches that include it. The last time I looked (well before Christmas) the 6x optical zoom on the Canon put it ahead of other cameras in that price range. I'm sure there are others that are worth checking out too, so spend some time on DP Review and Steve's Digicams narrowing the choices to cameras with the features, performance, and price you want and then try them out in a store. A $200 camera won't give you professional results, but you can stil ltake nice looking shots with them.
But it is cool.
