SP3 on an airplane: tablet or laptop?

[Joe8]

Hi all, I just got an i5 8gb SP3 and am flying today. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with taking it on a plane?
Specifically, when going through security, did you have to take it out of your bag (like you have to do for laptops) or were you able to keep it in your bag (like you can do for tablets)?
Also, were you able to use it the entire plane trip (including takeoff and landing), or did you have to wait until laptops were okay to use?
Thanks!

 

[GreyFox7]

Bear in the woods comes across an SP3... hey there Boo Boo, look what I found in this pic-a-nic basket... it looks like a tablet, feels like a tablet, works like a tablet... it must be a tablet. Hey hey I'm smarter than the Av-er-age bear!

 

[sharpuser]

I have flown a dozen times with mine:

If I'm asked if I have a laptop, I say no.
If the device is pointed out for any reason pre- or post-scan, I say it is a tablet, or an iPad.

No problems.

 

[kristalsoldier]

I have flown a dozen times with mine:

If I'm asked if I have a laptop, I say no.
If the device is pointed out for any reason pre- or post-scan, I say it is a tablet, or an iPad.

No problems.

I tried exactly that in Toronto last month and the security people said that it was, according to them, a laptop. When I took off the keyboard, they were a bit taken aback, but continued to insist that it was a laptop. I told them to go ahead and scan it. The kicker was that the security person was insistent on putting some metallic object directly on the screen of my SP3 - I yelled at him and people around me froze. He quickly apologized and removed that object from the tray. Only later when the flight was airborne, I considered the possibility that he could have thrown me in the can for yelling at him! But I did have a valid concern - the tablet is mine, it is very expensive, and I did not object to it being scanned. But then again, with these security-types, one never knows, they operate in a parallel universe!

 

[sharpuser]

Keep the clutter down. A tablet device, including the iPad, accompanied by a pile of accessories is likely to prompt a re-scan.

Or just remove it from the bag for scanning. It is simple enough to remove from your bag.

 

[GreyFox7]

Keep the clutter down. A tablet device, including the iPad, accompanied by a pile of accessories is likely to prompt a re-scan.

Or just remove it from the bag for scanning. It is simple enough to remove from your bag.

Agreed, a tablet in a laptop bag full of accessories isn't going to ... ... fly

 

[kristalsoldier]

Accessories? What accessories? There was only the keyboard and there was no laptop bag, only the Incipio sleeve that I got with the SP3! The cables etc. were all in the checked-in baggage.

 

[mohcho]

I left my SP3 in my bag and they just ran it through the scanner like normal. No questions and this was an international flight too.

Ironically, I got chastised by the flight attendant for using my Logitech UE6000 headphones while still on the ground. She said only earbuds were allowed. Strange.

 

[dleuen]

Same here. I've just left my SP3 with type cover attached in a neoprene sleeve inside my backpack with the charger and some camera gear, run it through the scanner conveyor belt, and never been asked a question.

 

[mtalinm]

my SP2 usually makes it through unquestioned, but with the Power Cover they get suspicious

 

[Mattman3234]

I've had mixed results. After having to pull it out and rescan once I asked what was triggering it and because on the scan it shows a Fan that usually makes them think it is a laptop and not a tablet. I typically just pull it out now to avoid the rescan.

 

[DXL007]

I pull mine out of the bag and sit it next to my shoes since they have to come off anyway and place them both in a tray together.

As for lasting though the whole flight, mine does.. But my flights are normally not more than 3 hours.