I travel a lot for AdMob - actually it feels like too much sometimes - and the site I use most consistently is Orbitz. I do try other sites from time to time, but find myself returning to them most often, as a result of the combination of best value and their tools.

So, it’s great to hear that they’ve joined the mobile world, with their own mobile website at http://mobile.orbitz.com/. Check it out and leave a comment below if you have any feedback for them, as they’re very keen to hear how they could do better.

One of the use cases I often talk about when discussing the difference between the old web and the mobile web is actually travel booking sites and airlines. On the old web, you’re almost certainly there to make a booking and indeed, that’s the first thing you’re presented with on these sites.

However, on the mobile web, you’ll probably be visiting for a very different reason - perhaps getting latest information on flight arrivals or departures, or checking on the details on a forthcoming trip. It’s encouraging to see that someone at Orbitz has thought all this through, as it will be a mistake that a lot of companies will make when they launch mobile versions of their sites. Therefore, their home page menu gives you options of:

1. Traveller update
2. My trips
3. Flight status
4. Find hotels
5. Contact Orbitz

This seems pretty spot-on to me.

Some other useful stuff they’re including is average wait times for security, details of airport wi-fi access and promised real-time user generated data on stuff like taxi queues, security delays and check in delays. This latter stuff will be great, assuming that they can get users to input the data, which might not be as easy as it might appear. However, it’s definitely worth a try and I’ll certainly be checking out these features in the coming weeks.

One thing that I’d live to see is details of where power points are located to re-charge all my depleted batteries for my various devices. I can live without wi-fi (especially the super-expensive versions), as I can get email and web on my phone, but power is often a far more acute need.

My first reaction to this is that it’s really well designed and takes account of the mobile web environment and user motivation. Nice job!

By the way, I used Orbitz on a trip to London this week and they sent me an email advising me about the pending tube strike. I thought that this was a very nice touch and beyond the call of duty.

Aside from that, as the only Brit in a party of 8 travelling US citizens, it was very embarrassing having to witness my colleagues endure the truly sorry experience of Heathrow these days, getting ripped off by taxis (£55 - about $110 - for an 8 mile taxi ride) and the capital city’s transport system in melt-down. At least with a third world country, you kind of expect this. In the UK, it’s a third world experience at super-premium prices, which viciously grinds salt into the wounds of the experience.

I sincerely hope that they don’t screw up the Olympics in 2012 when the world’s eyes will be upon them - but I really fear that they will.