When Asus sent out review units of the Eee PC before launching the computer, Asus included the higher capacity batteries. But when it came time to ship the Eee PC 900 in the UK, Asus went with the lower capacity version. The decision makes some sense, since there’s a global battery shortage at the moment. But it kind of stinks to read about a machine getting decent battery life in all of the product reviews, only to find that the real world version gets significantly worse mileage.

A few weeks ago Asus announced a promotion to let British Eee PC 900 owners upgrade their batteries. You still had to pay £10, and because you have to send in your battery before getting your replacement, you have to be willing to go battery-less for a few days. But it’s better than having a crappy battery, right? Right?

Anyway, now it looks like Asus is postponing the battery trade-in indefinitely. EeeUser reports that customers are getting friendly letters alerting them that the program will be “postponed until further notice.” No reason has been given. I’m guessing it probably has something to do with the battery shortage.