Up until now, the non-removable battery of the iPhone was just an issue that some some people pointed out as a serious problem and Apple just ignored. But it is likely to become much more significant now, due to a new legislation in the Netherlands. According to Tweakers.net (dutch text), this new law forbids selling any electronic device with a non-removable or hard to remove battery, due to recycling difficulties. Also, any electronic device should have clearly stated in its manual a way to remove the battery. T-Mobile, Netherlands’ iPhone carrier, should still be able to sell its stock of iPhone handsets, but imports of new devices will be forbidden.
Moreover, the new legislation came through a European directive, so other countries, like Latvia and Slovenia have followed, and some other European countries might adopt it later. This leaves us to wonder whether Apple will or will not modify its special handset’s design in order to abide by the new law, because clearly, if they don’t, they are about to lose progressively a good chunk of the European market. We’re also left to wonder whether this new law will also apply to all iPods, which, like the iPhone, have non removable batteries.
Via: Darla Mack