Yikes! Anybody know if this is true about the Ipod?

Ipod's Dirty Little Secret

It was indeed true, but now Apple has backed off of their previous position and you can get out-of-warranty battery replacement service from Apple for the low, low price of $105.95
edited syntax

Well depends what you're asking. Does the iPods battery commonly go dead in 18 months? No. Did his? Seems like it. Did Apple have a cheap replacement option? No. Do they now? Yes. Are there cheaper solutions to be had for quite some time? Yes.

I don't think there's a good excuse for making the battery non-modular in a case like this. Creative does exactly the same thing with the nomad ZEN, IIRC.
The replacement after warranty expiration costing what it did was pretty obviously customer gouging, which Apple has done before (like so many others).

Knowing Apple, it probably "clashed with their aesthetic vision" to have external lines on the back of the casing where a battery slot would be. Put it inside then!

Either that or they thought $299 replacement fees after warranty expiration were profitable. Which I have no doubt that they were in the instances that people bothered to go through with it.

Blessingx: yes, you can get a non-Apple replacement, but then it voids your warranty (although by the time your battery dies your warranty sure better be over).

The problem with the cases I encountered so far is that it was not the battery the problem. It was the iPod's Power Manager that went berserk.
(30 Min lifespan on charge rather that 8/12 H)

The solution is to open the iPod (not for the weak) disconnect the battery, wait some secs and replug it. The results were always good. Finding back the standard battery life.

It's sad that Apple has not included either a hidden switch or a procedure in the firmware to reset that *%$# Power Manager, that would have helped a lot.

If your country has a half-way decent consumer protection legislation, that shouldn't be a problem since Apple would have to replace the battery. For instance, in Denmark, if the iPod breaks within the two year protection period, you are entitled to have it fixed - at no charge. I assume it's pretty much the same in the rest of the EU.

People in the UK haven't realised but everywhere in the EU has to give you 24 months repair/replace warranty on goods sold (so ignore the 12 months warranty being up guys get back to that store and point out your rights!)

Damn, I almost feel like I SHOULD move to the EU.