but I find it objectionable that it's packaged inside what is essentially a disposable camera. Cheap lenses, fixed focus, separate viewfinders, etc.

Have you ever SEEN one of these Canon's? It is far from a disposable item. It is very high quality machined parts with some pretty advanced servomotor-based stuff in it. It's not fixed-focus, it auto-focuses with a mechanical focusing system. I agree that digital zoom sucks, but this thing has a small amount of optical zoom before the digital zoom kicks in. And it's very clear on separating the optical from the digital zoom. It stops zooming at the optical limit, and if you want to push into digital zoom, then you have to release the zoom lever and press it again.

I can't comment on whether or not the lens is cheap, but the folks at DPReview seem to think it's pretty good as it doesn't suffer from the chromatic aberration problem which plagues many digital cameras.

Won't argue about the separate viewfinder being cheap, but as has been discussed elsewhere in this thread, the LCD on the back of the camera takes care of that problem.

I do agree that this camera is not a professional grade unit. I don't expect to be doing anything more than taking Happy Snaps and the occasional empeg install picture. If I were a professional photographer, this is the last camera I would consider. However, for its intended usage, its size and quality make it worth the steep price tag.