Sony Alpha200K----my first digital SLR

I was waiting to buy a digital SLR for many years...I have 6 different point & shoot cameras (including: Fuji E550, Kodak Z712IS, 1 Samsung, 2 Kodak's, and a Sony W80) and the Sony Alpha 200K finally met the price. I've had the camera for a month now...
I get one out of three photos in focus. Calls to Sony support did not help. Exposures can be wildly off...more than 2 or 3 stops. My big hands manage to push buttons and change settings (probably part of the first problems mentioned). Scenes with high contrast will have severe purple and red fringing (poor lens quality). Comparing similar shots with any of my point and shoots....the Sony falls down flat.

I've had some sucess with long hand held exposures...up to 0.5 seconds. But at times, the anti shake does not seem to work.

I sent the camera back to Sony for "repair" and will report my findings after return and retest.