Just started a new job that requires lots of driving and address hunting. Since I've only lived in the area two months I'm doing good to know where I am most of the time, much less find a location. I've been using the GPS in my phone which works off of Google Earth but my boss was out of town last week on vacation and handed me his tomtom as he walked out. I hate this device, couldn't figure out how to make it do the simplest functions, so I'm still using my phone. However, I also picked up a street atlas for the area and I'd prefer to use that.
It's been my experience with using GPS to find your way that you're so busy paying attention to the GPS you fail to pay attention to where you actually are, don't notice landmarks, and your situational awareness decreases dramatically. None of which is good. If you do get something for your wife Hawkmoon, encourage her to use it as back up only. Print directions from Google maps before she leaves the house, commit it to memory, and have her learn her way around the old fashioned way - with knowing direction and reading landmarks. If nothing else, have her just use the voice feature and listen to the directions rather than staring at the screen so she's actually looking around her, not down.