I don’t know about you but the battery on my 3G S seems to perform the worst of the three versions of the phone I’ve owned.  Dan also mentioned to me tonight that the battery on his 3G S isn’t performing all that well either.

Now some of the drain can of surely be associated with the new push notification system but wasn’t the 3G S supposed to come with a higher capacity battery?

Maybe you have a first generation iPhone still and have long since reached that dreaded magic number of charge cycles or a 3G that’s nearing it.

I stumbled across this article tonight on cnet which offers a couple of interesting solutions.

The first method is a “do it yourself.”

Meritline is offering a 1600 mAh replacement battery for the iPhone.  This battery offers up to 50% more power than the standard iPhone battery and can be yours for only $6 shipped.

Remember, replacing the battery yourself requires you to open the phone up which in turn voids your warranty.  So if your phone is still under warranty make sure you take it to Apple first to see if they are willing to do anything for you.  If your phone is out of warranty proceed at your own risk.

If you lack technical skills but this sounds like just what you need there’s another option.

Rapid Repairs offers a lifetime battery program for the iPhone.

It’s called their Platinum Battery Program and it’ll run you $39.99

But here’s the kicker.  For that $39.99 you’ll get a brand new battery, professionally installed, once a year, every year for as long as you own the device.

You also have to pay a one time fee of $29.99 installation fee and are responsible for covering shipping costs.

Both methods are way more affordable than investing in a brand new phone just because your battery is no longer performing.