H.S. wrote:

Yes, it is not wide angle. But wide angle aspect can be one of the
features to compromise. The A590 IS* is actually a quite good P&S
camera, but I am hesitant about the need for extra batteries. You see,
the intended recipient is a retired elderly who is not tech. savvy and I
want to keep the peripherals to the minimum, along with the weight.

Yeah, I've been there, done that. I got my mother a digital camera with
a dock. Stick it on the dock, it charges the internal NiMH battery, and
uploads the pictures to the computer.

* Earlier this year I gifted the A570 IS to my brother. A590 has only
more pixels, if I am not mistaken, and a bit lower fps while making a
movie. Otherwise it is similar to A570. But take great pictures though!
Hardly any purple fringing.

We've got two of the A570 IS. Since the A590 IS is a little worse than
what it replaced in terms of noise and fps, I bought a second A570 IS on
closeout for $129.

Even with Li-Ion you'll have an external charger as very few Li-Ion
battery powered cameras still have in-camera charging, which is too bad.
But at least they can't put the batteries in incorrectly.