Camera gear turns over very rapidly, and the improvements are really only incremental from one model to another.
I think you would be well served buy buying something like a 3 year old Micro 4/3rds camera. Looking on Amazon, you can get a full new Olympus E-PL3 kit for $270 delivered. The sensor is "vast" compared to the sensors on an inexpensive, current digital P&S and on cameraphones. It will have much better performance in low light and you can swap lenses if you want a long telephoto or a really fast lens for low light photography.
