Most of the time you'll probably be using street addresses as the destination, so let's entering an address:

Figure 40: Entering an Address, Step 1

The first step in entering any destination is to tap on the "Where to?" button from the Main Menu.

Figure 41: Choosing Address as the Destination Type

After tapping on Where to? from the Main Menu, tap on Address to begin inputting a street address.

Figure 42: Entering the State Name

After tapping on Address, nuvi asks for the State the destination address is located in. By default nuvi displays the State you are currently located in, or gives the option of spelling out a different State.

In this example, I'm currently in Connecticut, but will be entering an address in New York State, so I'll tap on Spell State to continue on to the next step of spelling the State name.

Figure 43: Entering the State Name

Next the nuvi 350 asks what city the destination is located in (if you're not sure what city your destination is located in, you can choose Search All to have nuvi include all cities within the selected State.

Spelling the State is straight forward; use the on-screen keyboard to spell out the city name until the nuvi has enough letters entered that it can narrow the results list to just a few, then it automatically produces a list of possible matching cities to choose from.

Figure 44: Choosing a State Name From the Results List

In the example above, I'm entering a destination in New York State, so I type out N-E-W-space, and the nuvi automatically produces a short list of matching States (just one, in this case) to choose from. I tap on "New York" and continue on to the next step.

The nuvi 350 is zippy and responsive, allowing me to enter the city name as quickly as I can type, without any annoying delays or sluggishness.

However, I did find myself wishing that the text entry system were more like Magellan's QuickSpell system, which dims out various letters as you type, only allowing you to press keys that would spell a valid city name. TomTom has a similar text entry system. These systems reduce the likelihood of misspellings and make it generally easier/faster to input text.

Figure 45: Entering the City

The next step is selecting the city. If you know what city your destination address is in, you can enter it by tapping on Spell City and using the same text-entry method as we used for spelling the State name.

If you're not sure what city the destination address is in, you can choose Search All to have the unit search all cities within the selected state.

Figure 46: Choosing the Destination City

Entering the city name is identical to entering the State name; once you've entered enough of the city name that nuvi can limit the results to just a few, it will automatically product a list of matching cities to choose from.

I'm entering an address in New York City (note that you can enter either "New York" or "Manhattan" for the city name - nuvi will accept either), so I'll tap on "New York, NY" to continue on to the next step.

Figure 47: Entering the House/Building Number

Like most GPS units, the nuvi 350 asks you for the house number before the street name, which some people find disconcerting. Once you get used to inputting the house/building number before the street name, you quickly get used to this.

Some other GPS units allow you to specify the order in which you want to enter address information, although the nuvi does not allow the order to be changed.

One downside of entering the house number before the street name is that the nuvi cannot list the valid range of house numbers on a given street, as Magellan's GPS units do. For example, if you're trying to get to a house on South Main Street, Magellan's GPS units will ask for the street name first, then show you the valid range of houses along South Main Street, allowing you to pick a house number even if you're not sure of the exact address.

Figure 48: Entering the Street Name

The final step in entering the destination address is the street name.

In this test I'm entering an address on "Central Park West" in New York City, so I start to spell out C-E-N-T-R-A-L...This is the step that sometimes causes confusion among first-time GPS users. When entering a street name, you only enter the main portion of the street name, and allow the GPS to search for possible matches.

For example, if you are looking for "North Main" street, you would only enter "Main" as the search criteria, and the GPS would product a list of matching street names, such as "South Main Street" and "North Main Street".

Figure 49: Address Confirmation

With the address successfully entered into the nuvi, I can now either view the address on the map (Show Map), save it to my address book (Save), or route to it by pressing the large green Go! button.

Figure 50: Viewing the Destination Address on the Map

Tapping on "Show Map" in the previous menu displays the destination address on the map. This is a nice feature as it allows you to see what the streets will look like at the destination address.

Figure 51: Navigating to the Destination Address

Tap on the green "Go!" button and the nuvi starts routing to the destination address

As you approach an upcoming maneuver, the nuvi 350 automatically adjusts the scale, zooming in closer as the turn approaches. Once you've successfully made the turn, the map automatically zooms back out to show more distance. Automatic map scaling works well ; scale adjustments are made smoothly over a few seconds, and the zooming in and out seems logical as you drive.