Steve, I checked out the Minolta at DPreview and it is very impressive. It doesn't appear to have any of the purple halo effect or noise problem that the Sony 828 has.
Below are some sample images from DPreview from the Konica-Minolta DiMAGE A2: (the images are slow to load)
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/?gallery=konicaminoltaa2_samples/
The review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Konica_Minolta/konicaminolta_dimagea2.asp
To be honest, the choices these days can be overwhelming. It's hard to find and honestly compare every product within a price/technology range.
Todd