Having been an employee at the Apple Store, I know how they handle their products and typical trends.

1. Most people never brought in iPods with problems until at least a year after purchase.
2. The iPhone is FULLY covered for a year. (unless they can see that you destroyed it)
3. The AppleCare Protection Plan (available in July) will give TWO years of full coverage.

[the following is an excerpt from Apple’s Legal iPhone Warranty]
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/iphone.pdf
“(1) YEAR from the date of retail purchase by the original end-user purchaser (“Warranty Period”). If a hardware defect arises and a valid claim is received
within the Warranty Period, at its option and to the extent permitted by law, Apple will either (1) repair the hardware defect at no charge, using new
or refurbished replacement parts…”

There you have it. They don’t charge you to replace the battery until your warranty is up AND the protection plan ($69) is less than the cost of a battery replacement.
If you check the consumer reports, you’ll notice that they’ll tell you to NEVER buy protection plans or extended warranties… unless it’s the Apple Care Protection Plan.

Find the facts at the real site.
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/battery/
(notice how it says “Out-of-Warranty”)

Hope this information was useful.

I don’t care that they didn’t announce replacement plans beforehand. Everyone knew the battery wouldn’t be user-replaceable, just like the iPod, so no-one should have expected to be able to do it themselves. Furthermore, I doubt most people’s purchasing decision would have been altered at knowing that it would cost $80 to replace it.

New “iPhone” Policies Needed, Consumer Advocates Warn Apple, AT&T;

Issue new policies or we will have no choice but to issue another press release! This is your only warning!