Going to Himalaya for 1st time in life. Don't want to only rely on nokia e52(!)

Went into shop to get Canon and guy said I should get the WB700 as better parameters (zoom) which is 1/6th cheaper.

IXUS 220 seems to get great reviews depsite being not latest release. Is smaller. But Samsung has much bigger zoom? Motivated just to have an easy point and shoot.. that I can use in low light / travel/ sports type situations (don't think I can justify the x2 cost of Panasonic FT3 which I'd like except perhaps poorer quality than Canon? ) Good to be able to do things close up. Fast reaction time. Easy to use. Possibility to tweak a little in case I get hooked (no guarantees). Ae CMOS and filming capabilities of the canon relevant? Don't know. Battery life important, and charging and downloading are things not coverred here - any views? 1st time on the site -idiot proof info welcome :)