Originally Posted by United737522

Basically, the seatback pocket is not an approved storage area for cargo. Yes, cargo is laptops, ipods and water bottles. What it comes down to is that the cargo stored in the pax compartment must be in an approved area that has been tested. The tests tell if the bin will hold in an emergency. The seatback is not tested. So technically, as stupid as it seems, the FAA wants to make sure that your ipod will not cause the seatback to fail in an emergency and potentially injure someone.