Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me preface my review by saying, I own this machine. I am not one to write a scathing review for an Apple product just because it's an Apple product. I have an iPhone 5, an iPad Mini with Retina Display and this laptop. You can check my other reviews and see that I say plenty of good things about Apple products and accessories. That being said, this laptop is not worth the asking price. No doubt, it boasts highest specs in the consumer laptop market at the moment. However, there are some critical flaws: 1) Creaking noise: As mentioned by some of the other reviewers, this laptop is full of creaks. Whether because the chassis is so thin or because the bottom cover of the laptop is not screwed in tight enough, there is enough creaking to annoy even the least OCD person. The creaking is strictly a problem of aesthetics, but when you're plunking down an equivalent of a downpayment for a car, you should expect quality befitting the price. 2) Retina-ready apps: Despite being on the market for over a year, there's still abundance of non-retina ready apps and websites that make you just want to rip your hair out. I'm working for a company that uses a JAVA Applet, and the application just looks bad every time I use it. Even Microsoft Office 2011, which supposedly is retina ready, has some elements which haven't been completely redesigned for the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. 3) Performance: Even with the new Haswell processor and the IRIS integrated GPU, there are lags present in many website (Gmail scrolling...). 4) Screen Brightness: One of the first things i've noticed with this laptop is that the brightness is well below most high-end laptops in the market. I googled to see if anyone else noticed the same thing, and sure enough, I read an article that said that the brightness in the MBPr has been reduced by as much as 20% from the MBP in the past in part due to battery life... 5) Battery Life: Which brings me to another annoyance with the MBPr: lackluster battery life. Despite the new Haswell processors sipping power, the battery life is hardly any better than the MBP 13" 2011-2012 that my sister has. 6) They keyboard has low travel. That is, when you press on a particular key, you kind of want that solid push/feel. It's a feedback that tells you, yes, you did indeed press the key. Compared to MacBook Pro Classic or even the MacBook Air, the keys on the MacBook Pro Retina doesn't push down as low. I had a hard time the first few days of using this laptop, but I've gotten used to it so I suppose it's not a huge issue. ----- Don't get me wrong, this is a powerful machine that rivals almost any other laptop in the market. I'm going to keep using it until its wheels fall off. I only want to warn potential buyers that there are issues with the laptop which you should know about before pressing that yellow Add to Cart button.