The Pentax has superior optics. From the two you mention, my choice would definately be the Pentax.
My experience with digital cameras has been that a lot of the features that manufacturers are putting on them really have no use being there. For example, digital zoom and filters. These features should very rarely if ever be used.
Look in the specifications for items that really do make a difference in cameras, like the optics (lenses), OPTICAL zoom, (Do not even consider the digital zoom figure when making the decision on what camera to purchase), The size of the sensor that digitizes the picture (CCD) (The larger, the better). Another feature that can make a big difference is the buffer memory. This determines how many pictures can be taken in quick succession before the camera has to stop and wait for the pictures to be written to your memory card. More is better and in my opinion, 32mb is a minimum.
Hopefully this gives you a few things to look for in your purchase choice, and like I said, the Pentax would give you superior pictures.