samsung and panasonic have got really good recently, that looks like a beast of a cam

yeah.... you guys are talking about compact cameras that cost almost as much as a dslr

Personally, I think this new breed of cameras are far closer to the DSLR than to compacts. You have the inter-changable lens, you have a DSLR-sized sensor, and you have much of the settings that make DSLRs convenient. The think you're missing is the mirror box, replaced by an EVF.

I don't see cameras like the new micro 4/3rd system cameras [Olympus E-620] as anything resembling compacts. A compact to me is just that, something I can slip into my pocket. And that necessarily requires tiny folded optics, which is not something you'll find on any sub-DSLR "compact" systems.

Yeah I read a review about that mirrorless camera from Panasonic on dpreview awhile ago. It does look cool and quite a bit smaller than a dslr because they replaced the mirror/prism in viewfinder with an electronic chip or whatever lol.
About the other compacts with large sensor I actually read a review on Sigma DP1 which uses a dslr sensor and cost more than Nikon D60 and Canon XS but it seems that the image quality of that camera still can't match those entry level dslrs.

If you have a lot of time to kill here is the link to that review lol.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sigmadp1/

The Sigma DP1 looked like a great idea but the problem was that Sigma's camera operations were lacking, to say the least. Shot-to-shot times were horrendous and general usability was just cruddy. The image quality was quite a bit better than other similarly sized cameras out there, so that wasn't that bad to me. Also, its a camera that is probably best left on RAW mode since Sigma processing is lackluster compared to what Adobe can offer.

I'm waiting on reviews of the Sigma DP2 to come trickling in after PMA as well. Hopefully the new processor chip doesn't blow chunks like the last one.

Of course, I'm more inclined to go for a G10 since it can match/better DSLR's at low ISOs and I can also use my 430EX with it since it has a Canon E-TTL hot shoe.

Thankfully, I'm broke after buying a new race bike and paying my cycling team dues, so a high end compact that costs ~$600 is likely not in my future.