A great point and shoot camera.

This is my secondary digital camera. My primary camera is a Kodak Z650. I bought this camera primarily to keep in my (jacket/jersey) pocket so I can take snapshots while I'm out hiking/bike riding. In that capacity I'm very pleased with this camera.
It also has plenty of options to keep the more advanced photographers happy including a manual setting that lets you adjust most, but not all settings (ie. no way to set the shutter speed).
I've compared the photo quality to my Kodak Z650 and found that the Kodak takes sharper photos, which is expected given the larger optics on the Kodak. These differences in image quality would not be noticable even on 8x10 prints, and are only noticable when zooming in using an image viewing program.
While the LCD screen is small compared to other cameras in this range (2" vs 2.5"), the viewfinder makes up for this (in my opinion) as I've yet to use a digital camera with a LCD screen that is easily viewed in bright sunlight.
The A550 is easy to use, with all functions easy to access. Changing photo parameters like image size and compression quality is easy without having to navigate through a series of menus.
Canon's also have a good reputation for reliability and customer satisfaction. And to quote an employee who works in the electronics section of a local store, "I see very few Canon's returned as compared to other brands".