[Darkjedi]

They have flights in Europe that allow limited cell phone use now, just thought I should bring that up. I also vaguely remembering GSM for some reason interferes with some radios because they share similar frequencies, which is weird because Europe is covered almost entirely by GSM networks.

Modern airplanes have all their electronics shielded anyway. Though as the pilot and flight attendant mentioned, its best to follow the rules and put your phone in flight mode as to make everyones job easier. Leaving the phones radio on is only going to drain battery since reception is essentially nonexistent at cruising altitudes. Absolutely unnecessary to ensure the phone is completely off, though I remember always hearing on the loudspeaker that they wanted everything turned off during take off and landing even things like gameboys. Oh well, the FAA is probably one of the most conservative/cautious regulatory body in the government, but I guess thats why air travel in the US is even safer than driving right?