What does the A33 offer (AF wise) that the Olympus, Sony, Nikon DSLRs you have used have not?
Really, these A33/55 are a rehash of the old stuff- unless the focusing is superior to the old- isn't it?
Just because they can shoot video and focus accurately (compared to the regular DSLRs)while videoing, does not make them any better to the current crop of DSLRs.
I don't suppose they're better than the current crop of dSLR's - although the continuous focus seems to me to be considerably better than anything I've used before. Certainly when you take a shot and want to continue. Presumably this is because the mirror up doesn't affect the focusing.
But for me the real point is to have something which is very small, and which has a usefully large viewfinder (who would have believed I'd ever say this about an evf). It's really not much bigger than your G1, and the decent high ISO makes a fairly slow kit lens useable - even at fast shutter speeds and a long focal length.
Also it really doesn't seem to hunt.
But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the camera just 'feels' very agile and effective, and I was getting a much higher hit rate with the dog than I ever managed before - even with the D700 and D3 (although that probably relates more to my ability:
1. to swing a camera with a 400 equivalent focal length fast enough
2. understand all the nuances of Nikon's AF module)
Sorry - this is a diversion - but really it's in response to your CDAF comments, which I agree with - I'd rather use manual focus with a rangefinder!