As the market shifts from fixed in-dash units to portable devices, having a plug-and-play model in your line-up has become a vital business strategy for companies eager to make their mark in the navigation products business.

Growing consumer awareness of the enhanced driving experience navigation systems bring is fueling the market for new portable navigation products. CEA expects sales of portable navigation devices to jump from 700,000 in 2005 to more than 850,000 units in 2006. Some industry analysts are much more optimistic about the prospects for these small but mightily useful products, with a few predicting sales of portable units will top one million units this year. Including everything from built-ins to nav-equipped mobile phones and PDAs, Telematics Research Group (TRG) predicts that by the end of the decade more than 100 million devices will be sold that have the ability to provide turn-by-turn driving instructions.

What makes these portable navigation units so compelling? Intuitive user interfaces, convenient car mounts that attach quickly to the windshield and bright touch-sensitive screens top the list. Also units are easy to transfer between multiple family cars or to rental cars when the consumer is away from home. They plug into the 12-volt adapter and then sit on the dash or windshield, generally cost considerably less than the factory-installed version and do not required complex or costly installation.

As their larger in-dash cousins, portable navigation devices use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to place the user’s location precisely on a map, which can be viewed on a color screen. While driving, the Nav system calculates the car’s location, speed and direction and continuously updates the map with your latest position. The consumer just types in a destination and the navigation system provides audible turn-by-turn instructions to get them there, backed up by on-screen directional cues showing street names and pointing out upcoming turns.

Whereas built-in navigation systems carry map data on a CD or DVD, portable units typically store information on an internal hard disk drive (HDD) that can be updated by downloading maps from the Internet or purchasing maps on flash memory cards. Some GPS devices, including new portables from Tom Tom and Garmin, also can interface with Bluetooth technology to serve as a hands-free device for Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

Besides the wow factor of its small, handheld size – five ounces and less than four inches wide – the Garmin Nüvi 360 not only offers navigation but features language translation, an MP3 player – it comes with a 128-MB SD memory card to store MP3s – a world alarm clock and measurement and currency converters.

The Nuvi also incorporates Bluetooth wireless technology and an integrated microphone and speaker for hands-free mobile phone calls. Users can dial phone numbers through Nuvi’s touch-screen keypad. Maps of all of North America and Europe are stored on an internal hard drive and you can add a receiver for real-time traffic data transmitted over the Radio Data System.

The GO 910 is TomTom's newest feature-rich, all-in-one portable navigation device. With a built-in 20 GB hard drive, there is plenty of room to also store songs in MP3 format and play them through the built-in audio speaker or the car's hi-fi system via Bluetooth or with the included audio-out cable.

This year, most well-known mobile electronics brands are jumping on the portable navigation bandwagon. Joining products from TomTom, Garmin, Magellan and Cobra are new portable navigation units from Alpine, Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Clarion, Directed, Dual, JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic and Sony.

The acronym N.I.C.E. nicely describes the synergy of technologies that Clarion has integrated into its compact Navigation and In-Car Entertainment model P200. Combining the popularity of a transportable GPS navigation unit with a split capacity HDD for mapping and entertainment, the P200 reserves ten GB of storage space for music, video or photo storage. A USB 2.0 port provides fast transfers of digital images, MP3 and WMA files. The rechargeable P200 comes with a four-inch digital touch-screen TFT LCD monitor and holds as many as 4,000 address book entries.

The physical metamorphosis of in-dash devices to a portable size isn’t the only big trend in nav systems. Nor is the addition of MP3 playback to the roster of nav unit functions. Actually, the biggest current advance in navigation systems this year is the addition of real-time traffic data. At the 2006 International CES, Magellan and Kenwood added their name to the list of companies now offering real-time traffic options, joining suppliers such as Alpine, Audiovox, Cobra, Garmin, Pioneer and TomTom.

One portable navigation device that is not only able to route you from point A to point B but around a traffic jam – and on-the-fly in real time – is the Cobra Electronics NAV ONE 4500. The system's matchbook-sized traffic receiver obtains continuously updated traffic data through a FM radio feed via Tele Atlas and Clear Channel Radio's Total Traffic Network. As the unit receives the data, it provides the driver with rerouting options and up-to-the-minute information on traffic incidents, congested roads and construction zones in 48 major metropolitan areas across the country, covering approximately 70 percent of the U.S. population.

Also at the 2006 International CES, Audiovox Corp. launched the first XM satellite radio-ready, portable GPS navigation system. To be marketed under the Jensen brand, it is dubbed “Argos”, Ulysses’ dog in Greek Mythology who represents a safe return home. The system features a 4-inch LCD touch-screen, which not only displays the GPS data but when used with the optional XM connect and play cartridge and antenna also will display XM data such as song title and artist.

Argos includes an SD Card slot, MP3 capability and a built-in hard drive to store music or photo files. With an optional docking station, a rear-view camera as well as an auxiliary audio input for use with a portable music device can be added.

The U.S. market for traditional screen-based navigation systems also is growing, exceeding 1.2 million units last year, according to TRG. Navigation systems are getting the attention of the auto industry as 27 auto manufacturers now offer navigation as standard or optional equipment. According to TRG, installed OEM navigation systems will push four million units annually by 2010.