I wonder if this will trickle into Australian air travel. I would definitely appreciate not having to wait to read my Kindle.
I do tend to listen to the instructions prior to take-off mainly because I feel sorry for someone performing to an empty theatre, but I've noticed during those sessions that people continue to talk and ignore the presentation anyway, so I'm not sure introducing electronic device use is going to make a significant difference to attention levels.
Maybe it's different on flights in other countries.
I think someone has proposed in previous discussions that the whole exercise is more about exerting control and that does make some sense to me. All those little regulations that don't seem to make sense at the time could be more about submitting to the authority of those responsible for administering the flight rather than an acknowledgement of the safety implications of each individual item. I could be open to that interpretation.
In any case, what happens happens I guess. Even though I'm guilty of leaving my Kindle in sleep mode rather than turning it fully off, I do turn wi-fi and 3G off and I certainly make sure I don't impede the process of getting off the ground. If an attendant decides he/she needs to stop at my seat and ask me to do something, I would have to feel like my human rights were horrifically violated before I'd refuse or put up an argument.