Groking Airplane Mode on the iPad 3G

A recent Apple support note a describes the vagaries of Airplane Mode on the iPad 3G. It asks us to "understand" the mode better, which is a good thing, since its use is not a totally-on, totally off situation, depending on your flight.

Of course, when you invoke Airplane Mode, all communications are cut off, including cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS signals. You might think that was that, but depending on the flight, Apple lets you restore some connections while still maintaining the Airplance Mode: WiFi and Bluetooth.

If allowed by the aircraft operator and applicable laws and regulations, you can re-enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth while in airplane mode:

Wi-Fi: While airplane mode is on, tap Settings > Wi-Fi, then turn Wi-Fi on and choose a Wi-Fi network. Bluetooth: While airplane mode is on, tap Settings > General > Bluetooth, then turn Bluetooth on.

The user interface of this feature appears a bit counter-intuitive to me, since Airplane Mode says to me that all communications are cut. Perhaps the icon should change.

The note says that you can use applications, such as Maps, but the GPS capability won't work.