iPhone's Battery Non-Replaceable

sneakers563 writes: On Saturday, the New York Times (subscription required) ran an article pointing out that replacing the integrated battery on the iPhone requires the entire phone to be sent to Apple, much like the iPod. The article estimates that heavy iPhone users will need the battery replaced in as little as 1-2 years. When the author contacted Apple and asked how they were going to handle battery replacement, Apple's public relations department replied, "With up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of internet use, 7 hours of video playback, 24 hours of audio playback and 10 days of standby time, iPhone's battery life is longer than any other smartphone." With increasing numbers of young, tech-savvy users discarding landlines and relying entirely on their cellphones, will the loss of the cellphone for 2-3 weeks for battery replacement be a serious issue?