I treated myself to a low-end GPS device today (It's a TomTom 130S from PepBoys(!). $60 after rebate). And I must say I'm impressed.
Of course this is a very low-end model, but it does things I didn't know were available.
It keeps up with where you are via a scrolling, annotated, map. It's like looking down on your car from a low-flying police helicopter. You can tap the screen and the helicopter gains altitude - showing a wider area - just as if your passenger shot at it through the sun roof.
The device displays the time of day, but, more interestingly, your ground speed.
Entering your destination is easy and the device prompts your travel with voice commands ("Get ready to turn right, dummy!") in a variety of choosable voices. I picked the sultry English female accent. I think a gay lisp is downloadable ("Pweeze, oh pweeze, turn a wittle to your weft!")
The gizmo is easy to pop loose from it's mounting to tuck away in the glove box or, and this is kinda neat, to carry with you in case you're walking somewhere. Hint: When you park your car in a lot the size of Delaware, note the latitude and longitude. As you leave your daughter's soccer game, merely mosey to those coordinates and there's your car! Yes, it's (rechargeable) battery operated.
Tap the screen a couple of times and you're presented with little icons showing nearby gas stations or points of interest. It can also show you the nearest first aid/hospitals as well as fire and police stations. It accurately pointed out my neighborhood community police center. Perhaps the higher-end models show unsanitary taco stands...
Every once in a so-often, you can download an updated map for a small charge. You can also add maps of far-away places (UK, Turkey, wherever).
All in all, kinda fun. And, quite possibly, useful.