Funny this should come up because I was just thinking of how annoyed I was with this radio because of this issue. I only get 5 to 7 days of light to moderate use out of it before the battery dies and needs to be recharged. It's a pain and concerns me about how this radio will behave a year or two years from now. The thing could turn out to be disposable because of it.
Who's bright idea was it to install a permanent battery anyway? Why not a AAA? Dumb, if you ask me (and nobody did). :