Whenever a company releases or announced a device that doesn"t have a removable battery, the question is always raised over how inconvenient will it will be to replace it. Apple, a company who fits this description with many of its products, faced the same challenge with the iPhone and iPod touch, but simply requires a customer to come into a store to get things sorted out. With the release of the iPad coming up, the question was brought up once more, though this time, the answer was quite a bit different.
As pointed out by Engadget, Apple"s product page for the iPad reads somewhat differently than the iPhone page: If your iPad requires service due to the battery"s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee. Correct... Apple, instead of simply replacing the battery and sending your device back, will simply send you an entirely new iPad for the price of $99 (not including $6.95 for shipping). This, understandably, has both upsides and downsides - for one, you"re getting a brand new device, thus extending the overall life of your iPad, but on the flip side, your data won"t be returned to you. Unless you"ve backed up your device in iTunes, everything stored on the iPad when it gets sent to Apple is lost for good.
The entire process will apparently take about a week, though the real question is over whether or not customers would mind waiting a few more days if it meant they could keep their device along with its data. Also keep in mind that if your iPad breaks in ways that aren"t related to the battery, it won"t be eligible for the replacement program (unless, of course, it"s still under warranty). This is a rather interesting approach to the whole situation, one which most customers probably won"t find as favorable as simply getting a replacement battery.