"Speaking" in a clear male voice (powered by a 9-volt battery), the fully retractable, 16-foot metal Cobalt Talking Tape Measure announces the measured length with an accuracy of 1/16th of an inch. The tape's casing contains five buttons (pressing any turns the device on), which have the following functions: (1) advises of total distance stored in memory, (2) switches between feet/inches and millimeters/centimeters/meters plus converts measurements between these units, (3) adds current reading to memory, (4) re-sets tape to zero, and (5) adds case width to the measurement. A metal protrusion on the bottom edge of the case can be used as a pivot for drawing a circle or arc and measuring its radius, which is also announced.