turning iPhone into iPod and travel app recommendations

Airplane mode will do it. I have an iPhone so I'm going to sound stupid not being more definitive, but you SHOULD be able to turn Wi-Fi on even in airplane mode and make use of Wi-Fi hot spots in your hotel or McDonald's. There is a really good Paris Metro app by Presselite that doesn't need to contact the network. It CAN, in which case you can ask it to find you the nearest Metro stop, but otherwise it will compute routes for you without data usage. Also Paris Street Map Lite which was either $0.99 or free, it's not the greatest map of Paris but doesn't use the data network and will get around all the major areas.

Put it in Airplane Mode. I put iSpeak German on mine, as well as several transit trip planners, and a trip planner for DB.

Judey, putting the iPhone in "Airplane mode" should disable all wireless functions, including Wi-Fi, phone and text. If he just wants to disable the data portion, there's a separate control for that (in the "Settings" menu). Was he planning on using the iPhone for voice or text while on holidays?

You can still use Wi-Fi in Airplane Mode. After you put the phone in Airplane Mode, just go to Wi-Fi (directly under the Airplane Mode switch) and turn it on. That way, you will not receive calls/use data, but CAN use Wi-Fi.

I agree with the comments above about using the iPhone and not incurring charges. It's really simple if you just keep the phone in Airplane mode. I love these travel apps: Kayak, TripCase, FlightTrack, GateGuru, Convertbot, Currency, Paris Metro, Skype, Compass, Weather.com, WebMD (for prescription info for emergencies), First Aid, White Noise (when I can't sleep at night), Accounts (to keep track of separate bank accounts and credit cards when traveling), BOFA mobile app (also Chase and Citibank apps), myWireless (to keep track of charges on iPhone, if any), Darkness (for sunrise and sunset hours), all the Lonely Planet guidebooks and language books, all the Rick Steves apps, Fotopedia Heritage (amazing app), Flashlight (very helpful when you least expect it), Wi-Fi Finder, Urbanspoon (really great for finding popular restaurants), Yelp, MapQuest, David Lebovitz (for all things Paris).

It's not hard to set up your iPhone so that you won't incur charges and still can make phone calls. Go to settings; Choose General; Turn data roaming to off. There is even a message at this point that says "Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing, and other data services." I've taken my iPhone to Europe twice and this has worked well for me. Pam

Okay, that makes sense. Glad to hear that it's easy to shut off everything. We're not planning on using the iPhone to make calls. Thanks for the app suggestions. I guess a big motivator in bringing the iPhone would be to easily access street and metro maps, podcasts (Rick's in particular), etc. I also love the idea of accessing Yelp and Urbanspoon, but wouldn't you have to have a wi-fi connection for that? My husband is just not convinced that we need any of that besides Rick's podcasts and that we can just use the free tourist maps. It just seems to me that the iPhone could be potentially really useful and make things a bit easier, although it's not absolutely necessary for us to bring it.

As has been said, put it in Airplane Mode and then turn WiFi on and your phone is essentially an iPod Touch. For some apps, yes you would need WiFi access for them to download data. Some apps for maps will download the data ahead of time and they do not need a connection to get their data when you are there. Yelp and Urbanspoon do need a WiFi connection for their data, Yelp has more international cities than Urbanspoon does though, I don't think Urbanspoon has Paris now.

The apps we used most on our recent trip to the South of France were Skype, Michelin Restaurants and Collins English-French dictionary, none of which require a data feed. As others have noted, you can use wifi without activating data use. Skype worked well except when the signal was weak, then it didn't work at all. Michelin Restaurants has maps built in. The dictionary is extensive and very useful in restaurants and while walking around. I understand you aren't interested in using data on the iPhone, however I'll relate our experience this past summer in case others reading this thread might be. We elected to get an ATT international data roaming plan which came in handy when we were away from wifi and wanted to check opening and closing times, find a phone number or a location, check the stock market, etc. We had our GPS unit with us so we would get an address of the museum or whatever on the internet and plug it into that. If one avoids downloading Google Maps and any email, data usage isn't that great. That can be verified by turning off wifi, noting the data usage count (settings>general>usage), then doing some brief searches or surfing and check the data usage count again. We kept data roaming turned off unless using the internet and also turned off the email "push" for the whole trip, only checking email when on wifi. Note that for data roaming to work, the ATT international roaming plan for the phone is necessary. We had a French mobile number, but also used the iPhone for some calls when the two of us were separated. We kept a close watch on the data use, so at the end of the month-long trip the bill for calls and internet use in France was less than $130 which we found acceptable for being able to use all the iPhone's great functions.

To disable phone functions, place it in "airplane mode". To disable the data functions, turn off "data roaming". Also turn off all push/fetch functions when data is turned on. And yes, you will incur huge charges if you overuse the iPhone while abroad. If you do want to use it, sign up for the "World Traveler" plan and the "International Data Roaming" plan. "World Traveler" reduces the voice rate from $1.29/min. to $0.99/min. and "International Data Roaming" will give you a fixed number of Mb of data for a fixed rate. Here is a data roaming calculator to decide which plan is right for you [http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/international-roaming-data-calculator.jsp] Remember, that you will be charged for all calls, incoming and outgoing. Sending text messages will cost you $0.50 each and a photo or video text will cost $1.30. Standard home text rates apply for receiving texts. When you sign up for these plans, you will need to keep them active for two billing cycles. Sometimes charges will be delayed in making it to your billing statement and if you cancel these plans too soon, those new charges will be billed at the standard rates. Here is a link to AT&T iPhone travel tips. [http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp]

Just returned from Europe with my iPhone 4. I went ahead and invested in the TMs 50 inc. photo & video for $10, and $24.99 for 2mb of data usuage, also $5.99 for $.99/per min. calls. I wanted some insurance against high bills when I returned. AT&T told me that nothing will prevent charges if people call your phone and it goes to voicemail. I loved texting photos & video to my kids when wifi was unavailable. Incoming texts are free(depending on your US plan). We could also let them know when we arrived or if plans changed...like when our flight out of Brussels was posponed due to the strike there. I had Rick's apps for Louvre, Orsay, Historic Paris & Versailles. The compass was a lifesaver when we kept getting lost on our roadtrip to Normandy. The camera took great pics which I uploaded to Facebook each night so friends & fam could take a virtual vacation. Go to your AT&T store and they will help you out. I visited an Apple store at the Louvre when I forgot how to zoom on my camera. Have fun