Had an interesting discussion with a friend who suggested carrying a tablet (ipad or other wise) in checked baggage on an airline flight contravened the carriage of dangerous goods regulations.
In my country we are warned not to carry loose lithium batteries in checked (i.e. not carry-on) baggage.
The US Dept of Transport states that devices with batteries up to 100 Watt-hours energy storage are permitted in checked baggage. It seems, from my searching on the web that most (if not all) tablets and laptops have batteries with energy capacity substantially less than the aforementioned value.
Any comments?

 

I wouldn't put it in checked baggage because it might get stolen.

 

The problem with loose batteries is that they might come into contact with something that presents a short circuit across the terminals. Lithium batteries have a very low ESR (equivalent series resistance) so they can dump out a lot of current, maybe enough to heat up something enough to start a fire. Also, the battery can overheat and burst, all bad things.

ak