Likelihood of Compact Sony Ultrazoom This Year?

[maccrazy]

I've currently got a Sony Cybershot DSC-P30 which is in dire need of replacement. I've always liked Sony cameras, and from looking at the various reviews and sample photos on this site they seem to offer the best quality (at least to my eyes). However, I'm interested in more than 3x zoom which only really gives me the option of the H2 or H5 which are quite bulky.

Really what I want to know is whether it is likely Sony will release a compact ultrazoom (hope I've got the right terminology there) to compete with the recent Kodak EasyShare V610 and Panasonic Lumix TZ1. The latter of those models looks pretty appealing, especially considering has a widescreen movie mode with significantly better video quality than any of the Sony cameras. However, I'm a bit worried about the amount of noise that is visible, even at low ISOs, in the sample photos compared with Sony cameras which is why I am interested to know if it is likely Sony might be releasing a camera in this area before the end of the year.

Thanks.

btw. Are there any sites that cover digital camera rumors?

[maccrazy]

I guess not.

[che3300]

maybe not yet.. hehe..

[bluevellet]

So they'd use a similar system to the TZ1? If so, then technically, it wouldn't be an ultra compact, but a compact. I know it might seem like semantics, but it makes a difference it terms of portability.