The Modfather

This is a program I've played with that actually comes across better than Adobe Illustrator in several areas. The most glaringly obvious of these is the price, staring at $79 (USD) it packs a heck fo a punch. Check it out and see if it's right for you.

http://www.xara.com/products/xtreme/default.asp

Azhria Lilu

I'm just about to get started with Illustrator - I've got the full cs2 package - but might have a look at xara too. I had xara a few years ago and it looks like it might have progressed a little lol

Azh

You can also find me at Azhrialilu.com and It's a Bitch Thing
Please do not use my IM details for support questions - refusal often offends

The Modfather

I found out about it from a small sidebar article in CPU magazine last year and tried it out. I liked it better than Illustrator in many ways. Granted there are areas where Illustrator does come out on top, but if you can have both, so much the better.

Boston®

I had Xara ~3 years ago when I had Gimp too and it was horrible. Well nto horrible, it wasn't buggy or anything, but nothing compared to photoshop then. Its good to hear that other programs are sparking some type of competition in the lower priced market.

The Modfather

I wouldn't compare it to PhotoShop at all, it's more of a competitor for Illustrator, it's a vector graphics only program.