Kazez, founder of app maker , had a new program make its App Store debut this week--. The app uses information from Travelocity to search for rooms among 100,000 hotels around the world. When you do a search, HotelPal provides real-time results, listing only hotels with available rooms. Once you've found a room, you can book it directly from the app.

"Our goal is to make it easier to book hotels on your iPhone than it is on your computer," Kazez said.

That's a pretty tall order. After all, while the iPhone has many things going for it as a platform, but data entry using the on-screen keyboard isn't necessarily one of them.

Still, Kazez thinks HotelPal takes advantage of several key iPhone features to create a better hotel finder. The app taps into the phone's ability to pinpoint your location, allowing you to search for hotels that are close by. (You can also search by price.) Maps are built directly into the app so you can see precisely where a hotel is, relative to your current location. Kazez says that makes HotelPal ideal for finding a place to stay at the last moment, say if you're on a road trip or your flight has just been canceled.

The app also uses the iPhone OS's AutoFill features to fill in hotel booking info. Booking a hotel room through HotelPal is done with 256-bit SSL encryption, addressing any security concerns.