Huawei unveils the World's Slimmest Android Smartphone

Motorola flip phones from the 90's had it right when the case back was the battery also and you could choose a nicely integrated slim or extended battery option based on your preference.

For peeps younger than me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_MicroTAC

Agree 100% with the sentiment, although what you are asking for is really up to the display and battery manufacturers. Alternatively if any smart hacker can come up with some power consumption reduction algorithms then they are more than welcome to do so and then proceed laughing all the way to the bank.

The other problem with increasingly slim phones is they actually become harder to hold for some people. The 4G iPod Touch suffers from this. Incredibly thin, and easy to drop. I usually find a case to bulk it up.

I agree. At least an optimal extended battery would be nice.

Nevertheless, I think that the problem with current smartphone batteries is that the leap from a day of use to a little more than one day loses the convenience of charging it at home at night.

For example, I'm used to charge my iPhone at night in my bedside, and the iPhone lasts about a working-day of charge.

A battery that lasted 1.5 days would not be as useful, because the battery would probably drain somewhere where having access to the battery charger is not as convenient as the one plugged at your bedside.

It's only 2x battery life but it seems someone is listening:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/01/motorola-release...

I agree, and "thin" really isn't much of a differentiator anymore. I wouldn't have looked twice at my friend's Droid Razr if he hadn't insisted on showing me its profile.

It's possible that with 2 pound laptops and 5 oz phones, we already have almost ideal form factors given the constraints of normal usage. At this point, making a lighter phone is like making a lighter pencil or book - more novel than desirable.