I'm confused how having a point and shoot will help picture quality? With minimal knowledge most people can take good shots without a point and shoot.
The P80 appears to be the replacement to the Coolpix series (8700+), which were highly regarded for those who wanted the quality they'd get from an entry-level DSLR but without the hassle of changing lenses. With those cameras you will find that you can control most settings yourself, but what sets them aside from DSLRs (with the exception of the obvious) is that the "auto" mode seems to deliver shots that are slightly more polished. At least that is my opinion based on usage of both the Coolpix series and the prosumer DSLRs.
I believe it's a great camera to start with and it will grow with you for a short period of time. If you never see yourself stepping into the DSLR would then this is about where you'd want to be.
For someone who does not want to have to think about aperture, asa, shutter speed and exposure, yeah, I think that point and shoot will greatly improve their pictures. I'm not sure what you are getting at... basic understanding? Hardly. I could hand my camera to my mom, who can get great pictures with her camera, and she wouldn't have a clue as to what to do; nor any desire to learn.
For posterity's sake, I'm considering "auto" mode on a digital SLR as a point and shoot, as you are simply pointing and shooting.
Cameras should be separated as compact vs SLR, not "P&S vs SLR" as there are point and shoot cameras that happen to fit in the genre of a SLR camera.