I pod touch can substitute for a cell phone!!

VOIP requires an internet connection which is very expensive in Europe.

Bea, the places I have recently stayed have had free Wifi, and Paris now has free hotspots scattered throughout the city. With the infrequent calls we make, just touching bases back home, wifi/voip will work just fine for me.

I went back and forth between getting the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and finally settled on iPod Touch for exactly the reason stated above--unknown/accidental roaming charges. I just don't trust cell phone companies for hidden charges when in a different country. Plus, it's another $30/month on my cell phone bill--and that DOESN'T include unlimited text messaging (you can't even send text msgs with picture attachments either, which I find unreal seeing as the iPhone is supposed to be so technologically advanced).
Anyway, the iPod Touch seemed to have all the same stuff except for cell phone and GPS (I can use maps by Google if I need to find my way). A lot of apps (like Linguo) let you download the app and use it offline so you don't need much wifi access over there if you download most of what you need before you go. So, all the perks without all the hidden fees is the way I look at it.
I was going to take my cheapie old cell phone for emergency and buy and Italian SIM card, but I'll definitely check out the VOIP feature--that sounds great!

WiFi internet in Europe is anything but expensive. You can go to most any McDonalds or Starbucks and get 30 mintues for free with a purchase, very reasonable rates after that.

Data roaming on an iPhone in Europe would be VERY costly. There are options of unlocking the phone and possibly using a European SIM card, but that is a lot of hassle. You could get an internal plan with the provider, but it would be pretty costly as well.

You can use the iPhone with the cell service turned off. It will use it's wireless radio and connect to any WiFi hotspot. As well, the GPS will continue to work, but it would be fairly useless as the only mapping application is internet based (google maps). Eventually Apple might come out with a non-internet mapping app, but who knows when that will come around.

A coworker of my husband went to visit family in India for a couple of weeks after getting his Iphone. He forgot to disable it from automatically downloading his emails. He returned home to a $3000 phone bill.

It's the Iphone which exposes you to potentially large bills... The touch only uses wifi and not any phone network. I started this thread initially just to share that the Ipod touch has Voip capability and for the casual or infrequent user, could possibly substitute for other phone arrangements.

I took my iTouch on a trip to Europe recently and it was wonderful! I could access my emails almost every day and when the hotel didn't have wireless I found an internet cafe nearby for 2 Euros per hour.

There has been endless cases of people not aware that they needed to disactivate some features on their Iphone when abroad. Many don't realize that even you don't use it, it will keep uploading and receiving, ie. very expensive bills.

The Truphone app works great. You only need to buy the Iphone headphones and you can get free calls between Itouch (if both have the application), even when in different countries. I'm not exactly sure what the rates are for phone calls to normal phones when overseas, but I believe it's pretty reasonable. The Truphone app also works on Iphone, so that you can call (with a wifi connection of course), without having to enable the phone (and get charged for roaming).

Tom,

Yes if you find a free Wifi spot , it will be free. keep in mind that in Italy you won't be able to connect to any Wifi before you register. I don't know with whom you have to register if you want to sue the WiFi's. When you buy a SIM card they take all your personal information from your passport.

You don't need to register to use WiFi in Italy. You typically have to pay for WiFi service, and in doing so you enter your credit card info; this works as a defacto registration. Thus, using Wifi in Italy isn't any different than anywhere else in the world.