Camera frustration

My digital camera has died....Unfortunately, it's the sneaky kind of death that you don't really notice, until it won't let you download your pictures and when you do, you discover there are pretty pink lines through the bottom 1/3 of the picture. Apparently I should have researched my current camera- reviews say that the life of it is about two years and it eats battery and has shutter problems. *ding, ding, ding, ding* This sounds familiar. *sigh* Unfortunately, I discovered it's perfidy after my family had already purchased all my Christmas gifts.

Obviously, I need a new camera. I've done my research: What I want now is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ6. It seems to have good reviews and it has everything on it I need, I think. And it is reasonably priced.