i believe that with today's technology, anything beyond 6mpix in a compact camera is for marketing purposes only
few, if any of the cameras have lenses that match the increased sensor resolution
they virtually all have higher noise (or noise reduction that takes detail out of the image)
i'm sorry to hear the s70 hasn't correct the shutter-lag issues
high-ISO noise, dynamic range, color fringing, shutter lag, are much more important to getting good images than extra sensor resolution that doesn't result in better prints