You hear a lot of GPS these days.

Flickr’s pushing it; it’s a standard feature in new Blackberrys; an increasing number of digital cameras and cell phones are being equipped with it; Google has quasi-embraced it within Google Maps; and – probably most important, prices are tumbling to the point where buying a GPS system is almost a no-brainer.

The question is whether it has enough momentum to jump into the mainstream. For all the excitement, the biggest hurdle between geek technology and a mainstream tool is probably whether there’s enough that mainstream users can do with GPS. In other words, are there enough “killer apps” to make people say “You know, I really need to use GPS”.

So far, the answer seems to be not really. Sure, it’s great to know where you’re located but how many people really have that compelling of a need to actually use a GPS to do it. (Note: The lone exception may be parents who have to chauffeur their children to a non-stop number of activities. To them, a in-car GPS system is probably a godsend.)

This hasn’t stopped they hype machine from trying to trumpet the prospects for GSP. BusinessWeek recently ran a story suggesting GPS will make maps obsolete as more wireless devices come armed with built-in mapping and location services. Meanwhile, wireless device makers are counting on the sexiness of GPS to jump-start hardware sales and boost sales of GPS-related services. Nokia jumped into the GPS fray by spending $8.1-billion to acquire digital-map provider Navteq.

Perhaps the key to GPS moving into the mainstream is lower prices. At some point, consumers are going to find it difficult to ignore the lure of GPS hardware and services. Tiger Direct, for example, was swamped with demand recently when it offered the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N100 GPS for $99.99. Once you get hardware in people’s hands, all you need to do is sell them some useful services at reasonable prices to get the industry in high gear.