A girl at work had similar charging issues as you've mentioned here, she had to get her handset replaced (her network told her it was a common occurrence) so I'm not sure if it's an inherent hardware issue?

What sort of tinkering are you talking about?

 

You're stripping it out? No harm in a new battery or a factory reset, if the issues you have still persist after both, it's definitely a hardware issue.

Replacing the speaker is relatively easy from what I've read, gimme a bit and I'll see if I can some video guides for you.

 

Have you tried any battery usage apps to find out what's draining it? I have GSam battery monitor which is quite good at breaking it down app by app. If that doesn't reveal anything, try doing a factory reset and then don't install *any* third party apps for a few days, especially ones like launchers, lock screens, live wallpapers, and anything that might run in the background. Use the phone for browsing and music only for a few days and see how it goes.

Given that the phone is only 2 months old you're still under warranty, so why not send it in for repair? Get them to sort out the battery life and the speaker all in one, once you've done some basic troubleshooting you shouldn't have to do all the hard work tinkering around and replacing parts yourself.

 

Yeah if you're using the handset then the screen is often the biggest battery hog, followed by games, data connection, youtube and anything that uses the screen and internet heavily. JuiceDefender is good, you can configure it to turn off certain services when you're not using them, to extend the battery life, I hope that works out for you!

Regarding the speaker issues, I'd recommend a youtube tutorial video, or ask El Presidente!