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Have you noticed that many times your gadget will start to malfunction after the warranty expires?

It can be a coincidence or a defect, but have you ever wonder if these gadgets were designed that way? Your cell phone's battery charge starts to last a couple days instead of the usual 4-5 right after the warranty expirations (or a couple months latter)? Your mp3 player starts to malfunction a month after the warranty expires until it just brakes completely? Had you had to send your Kindle for a battery replacement (with costs greater than what a battery really costs) just a few months the warranty voids?

Products that last longer aren't economically good for the companies that produce them. What if they design them with a short life cycle on purpose, so that you'll have to update/replace/buy another one after a few years?

Are we being cheated? I'm not even talking about environment consequences of such practices that forces us to consume and consume and consume...