By Matt Phillips
Some tech-savvy fliers find it a bit frustrating that they’re asked to turn off their Kindles and e-readers for takeoffs and landings.
Airlines say Amazon’s Kindle and Sony Corp.’s Reader are like any other portable electronic device, and thus must be turned off for takeoff and landing. Still, this does not sit well with some fliers.
On CrunchGear, a popular gadget site, writer John Biggs detailed 10 reasons why consumers should buy Amazon’s digital reader, the then just-released Kindle 2 — and 10 reasons why they shouldn’t.
Seventh on the “do not buy” list was this snarky jibe: “Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on takeoff and landing. You can’t explain that it’s epaper and uses no current. You just can’t. It’s like explaining heaven to bears.”
We hold off on critiquing our blogger brethren for excess snark. But with Wenesday’s unveiling of the bigger, more expensive Kindle DX it’s time to disprove this well-written, but — ultimately — wrong-headed comment.
It’s true that the Kindle does use a low-power screen technology. But the level of electrical current is not airlines’ main concern when it comes to the Kindle, says David Carson, an associate technical fellow at Boeing. Rather it’s the fact that Kindles are designed to download books via wireless connections, which could disrupt plane communications. “It is the potential for radio frequency interference that is the concern,” Carson said.
Kindles aren’t constantly connected, but they can be. And the airline industry has come to the conclusion that it’s much more efficient to issue a blanket directive to shut off devices rather than expect flight attendants to familiarize themselves with the plethora of personal electronics with differing technical specs.
Also there are non-technical reasons airlines want fliers to power down their BlackBerrys, iPhones and laptops.
According to FAA spokesman Les Dorr, the FAA requires these carriers to have policies “prohibiting the operation of any [portable electronic devices] during the takeoff and landing phases of flight. It must be recognized that the potential for personal injury to passengers is a paramount consideration, as well as is the possibility of missing significant safety announcements during important phases of flight. This prohibition is in addition to lessening the possible interference that may arise during sterile cockpit operations (below 10,000 feet).” (For more FAA guidance on electronic devices check out this link).
So in addition to potential for frequency interference, carriers and regulators are also concerned about the decidedly non-technical safety issue of loose Kindles — or other electronic devices — potentially clonking somebody in the head during a bumpy takeoff or landing. Also, carriers and the FAA just want you to put away your toys for a few minutes and pay attention to the pre-flight announcements.
I can’t imagine that someone reading a book on their kindle is any more distracted than someone reading a book. plus most books will weight more than a kindle be more dangerous in a crash. I suspect that the number of airline crashes caused by e-readers is the same as the number of terrorists caught by the TSA.
So obviously the weight (momentum) of books isn’t a problem even if they are heavier than a kindle. I’ve never been asked to put my books aside.
Additionally, they will not allow the use of things like cell phones on the plane at any time. And they will allow the use of a device such as an iPad so long as you are not using the 3G on it during flight. So if they will allow the use of a device but not a feature in flight, why do they prohibit an e-reader because of a feature on take off and landing.
OK–I just got my kindle–I’ve read all these comments. I want to know what is “off”? If I turn the wireless feature off, is that “off”? or does the “pretty picure” have to be showing to be “off”? I agree with J. This makes no sense to me. PDA’s I can understand. Kindles–not so much….
Huh, so much argument over nothing. Since there is no “on/off” switch on the kindle, the rule does not apply. Sticking a Kindle into “display a pretty picture mode” isn’t “off”. What a joke.