I purchased the Nikon in part because it allows manual settings for shutter speed, aperture, etc. I found myself never taking advantage of those features. When I decide that I want to control those features manually, I will use the 4300 as a learning tool, then upgrade.
I would say that your choice is on the basis of cost and ease of use. Personally, I do not like the A80's flip-to-the-side monitor: opening/closing is just one more thing to do and I would probably break it. On the other hand, I really don't know how well the A80 compares with the Nikon in terms of battery usage-- an important consideration for me.
Good luck!
