Hi everyone -- I really need some help getting data plans and free wifi sorted ...basically, I want to use the phone to text, make a few phonecalls (local), and especially to access my email and the internet.

After searching the forums for 2 weeks, I found out I need to buy an unlocked quad-band 3G wi-fi phone and a SIM card for it once I'm in the foreign country. Okay.

But here's my question:
1) I assume in addition to the SIM I will have to buy a prepaid card to make the calls, just like I do here. (I'm in Canada, so most forums post answers for the US users)
2) But I have free wi-fi at my hotel -- how do I avoid racking up data charges (taken off my prepaid card no doubt) and instead using the free wi-fi? Is this even possible?
3) Can I turn off this feature on the phone or do I have to contact the prepaid card carrier (because I assume it won't be in English and then I am stuck)

Anyone who has got some good ideas on this -- I'd be most grateful