ipods mobile phones and the like emit much higher wavelength emissions from either their antenna or simply from oscillators within the gizmos.They do so within very close range of everything within that hull.
VLF has (as discussed at great length earlier) an enormous wavelength, ie kilometres, and despite its power output is still hundreds of K's away.To have an efficient antenna and to allow a signal at those wavelengths within a shielded hull to do anything is remote to the extreme imho.
I also tend to think that the turning off of consumer electronics is probably overplayed but why take the risk ?
I'm sure the very clever people who design these things do consider the RF the aircraft will encounter and provide adequate filtering and shielding.
If the vlf signal has anything to do with it, it would be a failure of a filtering cct and or shielding within wiring to or in a component not a design oversight imho.
Not having a shot at anyone here but in the media (including the net)those who dont or wont understand tend to go with conspiracy theories to explain things.
I'm quite sure any military would like their airbuses ie tankers) to not fall from the sky anytime they go within cooee of a vlf station.Its in their interests to solve this issue not hide from it.