[BonesLF]

Almost there with you. Charade is useful if it prevents a confrontation with someone who does not understand the security theater.

Thus, I turn the screen off for the 3 seconds it takes the flight attendant to walk by. I've been doing this for years. A fair compromise? Silly, but effective perhaps.

[Osiris]

I turn off my cell phone simply to save the battery power. You don't get any signal above a few thousand feet, so why not save on battery for the next few hours? Heck, sometimes I even use my laptop's USB to charge the phone in-flight so it's full when I land.

I think the dumbest thing is having to turn off a Kindle. Is that even possible? Pushing the power button just goes to screensaver which uses exactly as much power as when you're actually using it.

[lucasjung]

>I think the dumbest thing is having to turn off a Kindle. Is that even possible? Pushing the power button just goes to screensaver which uses exactly as much power as when you're actually using it.

You can turn a kindle off by holding the power switch for a few seconds. I do this every time I fly, for both takeoff and landing (I leave the wireless off for the entire flight). Given how low-power a kindle is, I find it highly unlikely that it could cause interference (unless you leave the wireless on, which could definitely cause interference), but I've seen enough surprising results from Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Safety of Flight Tests (SOFT) to know that you just can't make assumptions about stuff like that.

[dev_jim]

I find that 90% of flight attendants could care less as long as you're not showing the phone in plain sight. Turning it off briefly (event with it still in your hands) or cupping it with your hands and turning sideways so they can't see the screen is enough for them to check the boxes.