Don’t bother trying to get work done on your next flight if you’re using Bluetooth wireless keyboards.
Just when you think air travel can’t get any worse -- it does. Bluetooth wireless signals “are prohibited during flights as a wireless frequency that the airlines and the FCC (News - Alert) say could interfere with the aircraft's electronics,” according to the Bad Latitude column in the SFGate:
“A sampling of the major U.S. airline policies found bans on Bluetooth in flight on American, United, Continental, Delta, Alaska, Virgin America, Horizon and JetBlue.” Not like vendors are going to tell you they can’t be used while flying, heck they even have the brass to market them in airports to people about to board planes, as the Bad Latitudinarian reports personal confirmation: “At the San Francisco airport's new T2 terminal last week, “I noticed a shop near one of the gates with several models of wireless keyboard for iPad.”
There are some caveats here. Your airline might allow it. Check to be sure -- and really check, ask specific questions using words like “Bluetooth keyboard” and “during the flight.” And as the Bad Latitudinarian writes, even if they say they ban Bluetooth, that rule isn’t always enforced.
Anyway it’s a shame, since there are a lot of cool Bluetooth keyboards out there. Recently TMC’s (News - Alert) Jyothi Shanbhag wrote that computer gear specialist AVS (News - Alert) GEAR has introduced the latest Bluetooth keyboard ZIPPY BT, belonging to company’s line of Bluetooth keyboards.
The new compact keyboard can connect to six different Bluetooth devices simultaneously and boasts one-touch fast switch technology between all six Bluetooth devices in a matter of seconds.
David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.
Edited by Rich Steeves