Wrongo!

My first cousin is an avionics tester for Boeing in Seattle. The device most affected by electronics onboard the plane is the compass.

The compass can be affected up to 2 degrees (or more) by some electronic devices. The problem is that he has only tested a few hundred devices since it is so expensive. There are thousands out there and more everyday, thanks to our wonderful high tech economy.

Now, if you're blowing up the WTC, it might not be as much of an issue because you can see it for miles and miles from the air.

But, if you're flying in weather (no landmarks), on instruments, over the ocean, etc. it can be serious.

He disagreed with the decision to allow them over 10,000 feet and argues that you really shouldn't use them at all on the aircraft. He felt that Boeing/FAA/vendors should test and provide a list of approved devices if they were to be used at all. Laptops are generally low emissions, but phones are very bad, and some computer games (with little or no shielding) are bad. However, we were at a family reunion and he really didn't want to talk about work, so the topic shifted to family. His management overruled him on many of his decisions. (The PHBs win again.)

BTW, he's no longer on the avionics test anymore, he's doing military applications.