This was detailed in one of the pre-launch videos from Apple.

What is going on with the iiphone battery not being able to be replaced like other phones? Is that going to drive down the stock for apple?

Is there a swappable battery In the next generations of iphones,

Or is it in the one now?

Just not sure.

So, tell us. How much time did you get out of the phone playing music?

When your battery bites the dust you can go to an apple store and get it replaced within 3days. If you wish you can rent an iPhone for that time period. Battery cost is around 70 dollars

>How much time did you get out of the phone playing music?

We're going to continue testing as my tests showed significantly less than 24-hours of continuous music play. Sorry to be coy, but we want to be sure we can duplicate results across phones. Could be mine just doesn't care to play music for an entire day.

The thing to remember is that Apple's (generous) 24 hour music playback estimate is based on doing nothing else at the same time. That means putting the phone into "airplane mode" to shut off the phone and bluetooth. No fetching mail while listening. No making phone calls. No listening to the music through a bluetooth headset. No surfing the web. All of those things require power that is not figured into the "listening to music" estimate.

To come up with a real world estimate you need to come up with a realistic estimate of what percentage of each form of use will come from each activity and then prorate the battery usage by the various usage types that Apple has estimated. (For the record, Apple's estimates are: "up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback. In addition, iPhone will feature up to 250 hours—more than 10 days—of standby time.")

I too have found that my battery seems to fall short of Apple's estimates. What I am finding is that the unit lasts me approximately two full days of normal use on a single charge, and just one day when I'm in "showing it off" mode (which I have been doing a great deal of lately).

Personally, I'm fine with that, I like a battery that's dead tired at the end of the day - much like myself. I plug it in, hit the hay, and in the morning we're both ready to go.

Bottom line, this gadget is a home run and is far superior to any other "cell phone" I've ever used or seen.

Fang,

My tests were conducted under exactly those conditions. Nothing except the iPod features were enabled and I pressed Play and walked away.

Bill, replacements for non-charging batteries during the first year of iPhone ownership will be free, naturally as the warranty will be still in place. After that, the cost will be $79 plus $6.95 shipping -- a bit pricey, but fair given the cost of other phone batteries. Mind you, unlike most other phones, you'll need to send your phone in to Apple and go without it for 3 business days while the battery is replaced; like the iPod, there's no way for you to get in there and replace the thing without cracking the case open in a very unofficial manner.

Yes, but Chris, I believe the brightness settings and volume settings may also be involved. Did you use conservative settings for those as well? Just curious.

If it indeed fell far short, even under simulated conditions like theirs that would be good to know.

I know first day I was surprised how quickly it drained, but then I realized that talk and web surfing were approximately equally draining on the battery, so just because you're not talking on the device doesn't mean you're not losing a good amount of power.

A replaceable battery would be nice, though. Though I've done well with my iPods and all that, wouldn't hurt to be able to swap on the go or replace one when it died. Thoughts?

I did use conservative settings. Volume was set at the mid-point and brightness was never an issue because, in the default setting, the iPhone's display dims in about a minute.

And speaking of default settings, let's look at Apple's fine print in regard to audio playtime settings:

>Audio Playback: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2007 using preproduction iPhone units and software. The playlist consisted of 358 unique audio tracks, a combination of content imported from CDs using iTunes (128-Kbps AAC encoding) and content purchased from the iTunes Store (128-Kbps AAC encoding). All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks was turned off. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

So, no talk of Airplane Mode. By default, Airplane Mode is not engaged.

Regardless, I'm repeating the test. I've done everything possible to minimize battery drain -- Airplane Mode on, volume at the mid-point, file size exactly where the phone likes it, no messing with the interface. Just starting playback on a very long list of tracks and seeing how long it takes the iPhone's battery to poop out. I should know tomorrow.

Ive had the stalled iphone on my 2nd day. didnt try to reset but instead called the iphone from another line. This seemed to work as it unlocked the device. Knock on wood havent had it happen again...though a little scared since genius bars are so swamped these days!

I promised an update on my battery testing and here it is:

Still more testing to do but I do know this:

If you completely disable the iPhone's phone capabilities by flipping it into Airplane Mode, playtime exceeds Apple's estimates. I'm near the 27 hour mark now and it's still playing.

When the phone's battery finally gives up the ghost I'll recharge it, turn Airplane Mode off, turn call forwarding on (as per Apple's tech specs), turn Wi-Fi Ask to Join Network off, and run the test one more time.

The truth should then be revealed. When it is I'll write up the results.

Let me make sure I have this right - some people want an incredibly slim phone, that may be able to do just about everything, AND they want an easily replaced battery. Right?

Which of the above features are you willing to lose in order to have a battery you can play with? There are always trade-offs, and if you want a miracle of engineering you have to pay through the nose for it (in any industry).

While the iPhone is spectacular, it would likely be a much more expensive product once you engineer in a replaceable battery and somehow manage to keep it's form factor. (if possible)

Do you replace your own car tires?

my iphone will not stop rebooting???