One way to improve battery life is to make the device use less power.

I'd go so far as saying it's the best way to do so ;)

Didn't they blow off the Extended Battery Pack?
If this is true, it's probably a gimmick to entice people to buy the PSP-3000, because most likely the battery/power consumption is much better.

Component reduction, chip size reduction and reduction in power use leading to greater battery life is ALWAYS a nice improvement, even if it doesn't have any real effect on the functionality of the games or the device itself.

Mostly I just want it to play legit PSP games on (not interested in hacking and homebrewing), although the PSP demos on the PSN Store, downloadable games and Remote Play functions are all nice reasons to get a PSP if you already have a PS3.

Almost feels as though you're not getting the most out of the PS3 without one.

Meh, my original old school PSP is still better. Homebrew FTW!