VOGUE case hardware remake project

[sonicboom]

I am thinking about replacing the plastic case on my vogue with a homemade case made out of sheet aluminum. My purpose for doing this would be to cut down the size of my already small vouge.
To do this I am going to reconfigure/get ride of some of the hardware components (i.e. camera lens box) and use a thinner battery. Yes, this will require cutting, soldering, and most likely turning my phone into a pocketfull of useless electronis parts, but I am about to get a new phone (maybe the diamond), so what the hay right?
So I have some questions for anyone who might want to help....

1) I am looking for the thinnest cell phone replacement battery currently on the market (hopefully at least 600mAh) - if you think you know of one please let me know.

2)If you have knowledge of the circuitry that goes into the vogue please let me know. I have some specific questions about the circuit board that connects the touch pad, the front hardware buttons and the main circuit board.

Lastly, If you know of anyone who has attemted anything like this please let me know.

Thanks!
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UPDATE Sept 23
I have come to a decision point with this project - I think I can get the thickess to 12 mm and keep the camera, or get rid of the camera and take the thickness to 10mm (maybe even 9mm). Since the camera isn't that great anyway and I don't really use it often I might go with the thiner option for the sake of the project
Also, I updated to the offcial HTC GPS RevA ROM, so this will now be a GPS enabled phone. The ROM works GREAT!

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October 1st UPDATE / QUESTION...
I have gotten my touch to run on different battery types and I have gotten a thinner loudspeaker to work in place of the original one.

Also, I have 2 questions for anyone who has knowledge on phone circuit boards....
-Please look at the Photos I have posted of the Vogue main circuit boards. There is a thick gold line printed on the entire border on both front and back around the circuit board. From close inspection it does not appear to be connected to any circuits or parts. Most cell phones have this gold border printed on them in the same way. I would like to know what it is for. If I cut throught it will it make anything on the phone non-functional? I have circled in red (#1) the area where I am specifically concerned about.

-On the back of the circuit board I have circled in red (#2) two small dots that have been printed on the board. What are these for?

Thanks!

Front.JPG

Back.JPG

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UPDATE 10 OCTOBER

I have gotten my vogue to run on a couple different 3.7v batteries. If you look at your vogue's battery terminals let's call the "+" terminal "#1", numbering the termials 1-4, making the "-" terminal "#4". If you take a different battery with three terminals and connect your + to #1, your - to #4, and your "T" or middle terminal to #3 your vogue will turn on and run like normal.
Recharging is another story...
I can't get my vogue to recharge any of the 3-terminal batteries I have tested. I have connected the terminals in all of the configurations I could think of with no good battery charging indication from my phone.

Question for anyone: If you know what what the two middle terminals (specifically that #2) are for and how they work please let me know!
Also, if you know how to get a 3-terminal battery recharging off of your vogue please let me know!

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UPDATE 17 OCTOBER
I have kinda hit a brick wall.
My main purpose of this project was to shave quite a bit a size of of my Vogue by replacing some parts, mainly the battery. After taking apart and re-assembling my Vogue a multitude of times and taking lots of measurements I think I can get the dimensions down to 96 mm Tall, 56 mm wide, and 9.5 mm thick (yes, only 9.5mm thick!!!), if I can get a different battery to work and recharge normally.
The brick wall I have run into is the battery. I was planning on coupling a few ipod nano batteries together to get a 900-1000mAh battery that would be just over 2 mm thick (the stock 1100mAh battery is 6 mm thick). I can get the phone to run off of this battery, but I can't get the phone to charge this battery. If you notice your vogue battery has 4 terminals on it, while most Li-Poly/Li-Ion battery have 3.
So, I am in need of help. If anyone has any knowledge on the battery terminals for the vogue, or has taken apart a vogue/elf battery (to see the circuitry actually inside the battery) please let me know.