[citation][nom]somedude21[/nom]Opening the case and replacing the battery yourself does not void the warranty, though I agree it's more steps than it should be. On the other hand, my 2-year old unibody MBP, with the original battery on 200+ charge cycles still runs 7+ hours on a charge, so maybe Apple was on to something.[/citation]
The other problem I have with non-removable batteries is that you're stuck if there's a problem. Remember the exploding batteries? Back when that problem hit, you just removed the battery, sent it in and put your replacement back in its slot.
I suspect the nature of these ultra-skinny products is forcing designers, both Apple and Dell, to make their batteries non-removable. They aren't doing it to be difficult. It's a more expensive situation for them. So it's likely necessity that's driving this.
-Andy