If they actually have any intention of having people follow this rule, they need to actually start punishing people who blatantly ignore the rules. I've sat on many planes and watched people be told to shut off their iPods... only to turn off the screen until the stewardess walks away, then immediately re-activate it. If people were fined, I doubt the rule would be broken as much.

If, on the other hand, there is no intention to actually enforce this rule, get rid of the damn thing.