This shocked me.

I've had problems with my Sony Vivaz, mostly battery life and charging. So Orange say "Get a new battery"
Turns out the battery warranty (and life) is 6/12 months depending on who you talk to. Orange have even credited me with £35 off my bill for one. Just go to any Orange shop.

Only Orange shops don't stock phones.
Neither do Carphone Warehouse (no sony ones since the k800 about 3 years ago)
Nor do Orange's own accessories department.
And finally Sony Ericsson themselves don't sell them anymore.

I told them it was a farce that they don't do batteries for a phone that's still under warranty, and then I found the kicker. According to wikipedia, my phone was released March last year. I was one of the first to have one.
And they've stopped all support.
After SIXTEEN months.

Ended the call with "I won't be using a Sony ever again, after having them for six years!"

I've a HP Touchpad. Released July 15th 2011, production stopped August 18th 2011. Very little support available pushing towards no support for webOS

I've got phone batteries off eBay. Just enter battery or phone type number.

Oh yeah, turns out I can actually get proper ones new from a "trusted supplier" (Sony's words) I was just completely gobsmacked that they've stopped making parts (I suppose software is different because that'll need constant work) before the warranties are out...

I've bought phone and camera batteries from ebay no problem after the manufacturer stopped supplying them. Most of them ship from Hong Kong free and they have lasted ages longer than original equipment versions.