Hi everyone! Long time no see. Just wanted everyone to know that I sent my first gen iphone in for battery replacement under applecare extended warranty as it would have been running out on 6/29. The battery had quit holding a charge for two - three days like it did originally. After a rather lengthy discussion with the applecare support person, I was given the okay for battery replacement. I also had a small crack in the lower right hand corner that ran from about two inches up from the lower right corner to the Home button circle. I didn't ask to have it repaired, but apple did simply replace the phone with a refurbished model for no charge. The entire process took three days - overnight shipping out, one day to identify the issue, and one day to ship back to me. It arrived this morning at 9:15 AM. That applecare warranty was the best $69 that I've ever spent.
I was going to simply make a post telling how happy I was with the service, but when I saw this thread, I decided to just add my experience. There was never any intention to deceive apple in any way. I would have been happy if they had disassembled my phone and just soldered in a new battery and then reassembled it again, but a newly refurbished phone is ooooo so much better.