Ultra Cool – a Sticky Pad Upgrade to classic GhettoIFE (you will want these – trust me)!

First some background for the title of this post. One of my hands down favorite bloggers of all time is Kevin (and he is an all around super nice guy as well). Maybe it is his British world view or just him – either way I am almost always smiling in seconds when I am reading his stuff.

A few years back he changed his blog name from the very catchy GhettoIFE to his current name, Economy Class and Beyond (E-CAB maybe for short – cuz that is a lot to say?)! He chose the old name because before the introduction of seat back IFE (in-flight entertainment) you sometimes had to use your own phone to watch stuff and he used a fresh air sickness bag (i.e. puke bag) to hold his phone with a bit of modification.

Thankfully I fly Delta and on almost all their mainline jets they have IFE and are making a solid investment to keep them on all their new ones they are building via Gogo streaming to tablets mounted in the seat backs in front of you (very cool tech btw). But notice I said “almost” all Delta jets. What about the few (mostly partner jets) that do not have IFE. Well we can go the GhettoIFE route or:

Notice the little back square above (you can use two if you have something bigger fyi)? It is one of these ultra sticky pads that you can remove and reuse. Then what you do next is this:

Stick your phone on the seat back and – voila – you have your own 2019 upgraded GhettoIFE (told ya you would want one of these). It not only works on tray tables but:

It also works on CRJs with leather seats and sticks really surprisingly well (note: you will get strange looks from FAs and other passengers alike). One #ProTip for both the tray table or wall mount our seat back use – clean the surface 1st before you apply the gel pad(s). Since I wear glasses I always have lots of these 1x use wipes that work just perfect to both clean and, more importantly, sanitize the surface I am about to stick to.

Lastly, how do these hold up (or that is hold the phone / device)? How about during turbulence? These sick amazingly well under most conditions but conditions is the key. They stick well to flat clean surfaces and to a smooth backed phone or tablet. If you have these two conditions, and press the pad and the device firmly in place, it can take all kinds of turbulence and stick well for as long as your flight is. If not, it can fall off (and could release for any other number of reasons – just know this CAN happen as you are NOT gluing it to the device or surface)!

What do you think of my updated GhettoIFE solution? Are you going to try these? It is too much work to get them out, clean the surface, put the pad back between the protectors each time you fly and want to use them? You tell me! – René