We’ve all been there — out on the road, with an address, vague directions and the sinking feeling that finding our destination won’t be as easy as we thought. If a client is waiting at that destination, it can be bad for business.

Your cellphone may solve the problem for you. Thanks to a combination of data-enabled mobile phones and online maps from various service providers, you can now get exact directions instantly.

Waterloo, Ont.-based Research in Motion Ltd. , which has captured the market for mobile e-mail with its BlackBerry devices, offers an integrated mapping service called BlackBerry Maps. Available as a download for BlackBerry phones, the service lets users look up addresses and directions while searching for nearby businesses.

Some BlackBerry devices include extra features such as TeleNav Navigator, which gives you step-by-step directions to your destination as you make your journey. To take full advantage of features such as that, however, you need a global positioning system built into your phone. The BlackBerry Curve 8310 that Rogers Wireless began shipping this month includes both TeleNav and GPS features.

BlackBerry Maps isn’t the only system available to BlackBerry users. These and other mobile users can download the mobile version of Google’s mapping software, which takes advantage of built-in GPS capabilities. One advantage of using services such as these in conjunction with GPS is you are able to search for resources near your location. Such location-based services promise to be a growth area for mobile services in coming years.

As mapping services continue to mature, it is possible that other navigational services will become available via cellphone. For example, when accessed from a desktop browser, Google Maps already enables users to switch between a street-map view of their location and a satellite image, which can be used to lock down your location by identifying nearby landmarks.

For the past several months, Google has been experimenting with street-level views. Street Views takes you right down to the street in selected locations, enabling you to move along city streets virtually, “looking” left and right to get your bearings. The company is considering launching this service in Canada. IE