I have had widely varying results with the GPS receiver. I've never used a GPS device before so I also had no idea how long it should/would take to get a fix. I also had no idea that there was difference between the first and subsequent (my term, I guess) fixes, but my experiences have left me wondering if this is just the state of the art right now or if the N810 GPS is unstable in some manner.

That is, when I got my N810 and started the map application, it took at least 15 minutes for the N810 to get it's first fix. Now, it often takes 5-10 minutes to get a subsequent fix and it regularly 'blinks out' (my term for when it simply loses the fix for a minute or two) when I'm using the built-in map client. I have tried MaemoMapper and I'm just waiting for Gnuite to compile his latest wizardry for my device.

My questions:

What do we mean by a 'first' fix?

Does this mean after you turn on the device or open the map application? I never turn off my tablet, but of course I do exit the map application when I'm not in the car. When I re-open the map application, it often takes more than five, sometimes even ten minutes to get a fix. I live in a suburban environment, so there are no large buildings to interfere with the signal, but it does seem to me like this is taking way too long.

How long should it take to get a 'subsequent' fix?

I guess it has a lot to do with our expectations, and since mine were, I hope, fairly low to begin with (I was delighted to see that it even worked, it doesn't seem like a lot to ask for fairly immediate (say 1-2 minutes?) fix when I am about to begin to travel. And the 'blink outs' are just annoying now, but I think if I was actually trying to find a street and the app just loses it every so often, I might be better off listening to my wife and asking the gas station attendant. Not.

Opinions? Experiences? Thanks in advance.