As a humble pax who spends more time in aluminium tubes than is good for him, I have to say that the whole area of "electronic devices" is pretty confusing, primarily because there seems to be little consensus amongst airlines as to what is permissible and what is not.
Some for instance do permit the use of personal CD/MD players in flight (a personal godsend if you seen the movies n times before), whereas some do not. Some allow MP3 players, some do not. Some allow the use of mobile phones until the doors are closed, some not on board at all. Some specify a wide variety of "prohibited" items in the in-flight magazine (the only really appropriate source of information since PA quality in aircraft is so variable), and some just a vague list (and personal GPS units don't yet figure prominently anywhere, I've found).
The "best" one I had recently was an airline that didn't think I ought to use my (non-CD-equipped) laptop in a business class seat in which they had very publicly provided a working PC power socket!
You have to remember too that most pax do not understand the finer points of electronic radiation and therefore do not realise that something as apparently passive as a personal CD player can, it seems, endanger a fantastically sophisticated modern aircraft.
So, to pre-empt the situations that get the likes of Hugmonster so worried, I suggest that airlines:
(1) Somehow agree a common set of rules in this area, and
(2) Produce a straightforward leaflet for providing in all seatbacks that simply explains, in ways that most pax can understand, why all these toys are so apparently dangerous when used in a modern aircraft in flight.
That should then avoid any unpleasantness from those who might think that they know better.