I don't have any suggestions on which brand of camera to buy, but I do have a suggestion on which batteries to use when you do get one.
I have an older Casio camera which uses 4 AA batteries. When I got it, I was real disappointed on how fast it would go thru a set of battries. I talked to others who had different brands and found they had the same problem. With the flash on mine would only take 20-25 pics then the battires were dead. Even tried NiCad battries and they weren't much better, but you could recharge them. One day in Radio Shack, the salesman suggested using Nickel-Metal Hydirde(Ni-MH) batteries. Said they would last a lot longer. I was skeptical, but tried them anyway. They cost about $20 for 4 AAs and a charger. To test to see how many pics I could get on one charge, I started taking pics as fast as the flash would charge. I gave up at 150 pics the battery meter was still just under full.
Hope you find a camera you like, They are a great tool.