OK, call me dumb, this is my first GPS, so I'm not familiar with this technology and have a few questions (and yeah, I read the user manual, was not of much help whith the next questions):




I'm travelling and in the middle of my trip decided to buy a GPS, my choice was between Garmin 255W and Magellan Maestro 4350. Finally got the Magellan two days ago.

My first problem, I don't even know if it works:

Now I am at hotel. I turn it on again this morning, and "current location" is a different address, different street two blocks away. Is this correct? I mean that the gps can't get your exact street/location or where you actually are?

Other than that, most of the time, when walking outdoors (and indoors as well) I see the message "acquiring signal"...like it's a neverending message, I imagine it is supposed to "acquire signal" in a couple or 5 minutes, but it takes forever (it's been raining everyday this whole week, does it affect it?).


And third, how do I activate the text-to-speech functionality? I select "Go To", insert address and get the map with green line. Since I don't have a car for a few days, I'm testing it using "public transportation" or walking, is this a reliable feature? I don't know what "99", "7", or "99A" or "1A" means on the map, they are on when I select public transportation. At first I thought it was the bus numbers, but they are not... How do I make the GPS to actually "speak"?

Another thing, I try to zoom in and when I touch the screen it inserts a red dot (circle) which I find no use for it, actually it changes the map area, moves it to a different location which is annoying...


Well, thanks God I have Google maps, because google maps is giving me better maps and directions, also it's pretty accurate on the public transportation and walking feature. But I bought a GPS because I cannot walk or use transportation with a 16' screen laptop. The GPS is supposed to do the job...

So, if someone can comment...I mean, I don't know if the GPS is supposed to work this way, I still can return it (and may be get the Garmin 255W instead) or replace the unit...or live with it...

^ Many thanks in advance!

GPS need to have a decent view of the sky to pick up a satellite signal... Most don't work well (or at all) indoors.

Outdoors when hand held, depends if it's covered or not. That why the preferred mounting place is on the windshield - gets a good view of the skies.

HTSC

If you are in a city with a lot of tall buildings, that is probably your problem. As mentioned, any GPS needs a good view of the sky to be able to lock onto the satellites. The more satellites it can lock onto, the more precise location it can determine. If it can't "see" enough satellites it cannot determine your location.