XPS 15z battery replaceable friendly?

I have came across a few reports that the battery for the XPS 15z is not entirely battery replaceable-friendly and if one wanted to he/she could opt for the assistance of Dell for ~$190 + labor fee. Can anyone confirm this?

Edit: I just contacted Dell and the representative did confirm that a Dell technician will be needed to replace the battery in the event a new battery is needed for a fee (unknown at this time).

Great, along with a non-friendly battery replaceable design, with a subpar screen compared to the B+RGLED, degraded 1.3mp webcam, and lack of JBL speakers + subwoofer of the XPS 15 all for a higher price, I do not see a rational justification for a sleeker unit (subjective perception) unless one is that desperate for a MBP wanna-be system that houses Windows 7.

 

Ok, I feel better knowing I'm not the only one worried about the battery issue. In fact, it's the main reason I haven't placed an order yet. I had a similar experience with Dell reps. The first one claimed it would cost $600 (not ting u guys) for the battery and the labor if the laptop was outside the one year warranty, the second claimed $185 + labor (for which he wasn't sure of the price) Instead, he suggested I opt for the $300 (in Canada) 2 year protection to cover any battery issues that may arise or check back in the future for them to have a better idea about the actual pricing.

I love the form factor and the convenience but it just seems exorbitant considering Apple, which is the king of mooching ridiculous amounts from customers only charges $110 to replace a battery on the MBP.

 

This has been answered in the 15z thread already, to a question posed by both of you.

Here are the instructions to replace the battery: Documentation

Replacing hard drive, ram, and the battery will take a normal person capable of using a screwdriver and following instructions 15-30minutes. If you can put together a table from ikea, you can replace the battery yourself.

As far as the disadvantages of 15z vs xps 15, they are all also very subjective(just like the form). For me the rational justification was - more portable (I fly all the time), better battery life, looks better.

The only cons for me were the way keyboard looked in the pictures. It is better in person, but I'm more a fan of thinkpad keyboards.

 

So at least it seems that changing the battery is at least feasible for the average consumer whereas the MBP is nearly impossible. Hopefully when Dell finally decides to include the B+RGLED and quad-core processor in the 15z, I may give it some serious thought to buy one.