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these are Li-Ion batteries and typically Li-Ion batteries should last around 300-500 charge cycles...which really means about 50% capacity at around the 250-350 cycle point...so a Kindle battery should last years w/o needing replacement. But from what I am reading is the batteries might not be as well made as one would expect from a $400 device.
Do some googling and you will find plenty of feedback on how to best treat your Li-Ion/Li-Poly battery. You will get the best lifespan if you never let the charge drop below about 30%, I find my laptop batteries prefer topping off at around 50% and get a good 3-yrs from a 9-cell battery on a 17" laptop which gets connected and disconnected from power many times daily. Unlike NiMH batteries Li-Ion/Li-Poly batteries last longer with more frequent smaller charges...NiMh batteries like(need to be) to be fully discharged either in use or during the recharging process the keep their charge capacity.
Last Lithium based batteries do have a limited lifespan even when not used. If you want to maximize this and know the battery will not be used for long periods (say over a month) run the battery down to 40% or so charge. This will really help slow down the aging process inherent in li-Ion/Li-Poly batteries.
I can offer a comparison to my Nokia N800 and the battery in it still holds as much of a charge as it did over a year ago and I use it a lot. Right now the OS reports a full charge is 93.7% of capacity. 6-mo ago it was 97.8.
To be honest I would expect a Kindle battery should work just fine for a minimum of 3-yrs given the way they are used. But many here don't think the Kindle should be expected to last that long. FYI, for those who aren't used to Li-Ion batteries, when they die, they seem to take a sudden huge drop in charge capacity even if you have been running exclusively off the power adapter for a long time. That is the aging process of the internal chemistry of these batteries.
To be honest I have no idea about the battery in our Kindle. I never use the thing and, well, just have no idea. Still from reading I really have a sense Amazon might have cut corners on batteries, either in the original design or by adding another mfg or two that makes lower quality batteries (but could at least deliver them on time)...it's not like any of us would be able to tell. As long as the battery meets the original FCC specs Amazon doesn't have to say a word. So, some users might have gotten batteries that were not made by the same MFG as those who are not having problems.
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