Q: Can you make an apple account to download Apps without using Credit Card details?

You can if you follow the instructions on this page when creating the account : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534

if you don't then credit card details will need to be entered before the account can be used to download any item from the store.

Creating an account with 'none' :

computer's iTunes : https://discussions.apple.com/message/24321860

iPhone : https://discussions.apple.com/message/24700173