Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15" 2880x1800 MC975LL/A Intel i7-2.3GHz Quad-Core Ivy Bridge 8GB RAM 256GB SSD + $185 Reward Points = $1,849

I used to think the "retina" screen tech was mostly hype, until I tried an iPhone 5.

The visual quality boost is quite dramatic. Comparing the grainy pixelated look of an iPad Mini to an iPhone 5 makes me not want to use the iPad at all.

Beyond resolution, another thing that people tend to conspicuously ignore is the fact that the retina displays are IPS instead of TN. IPS is much better for color and gamma consistency.

My concern about this particular deal is that the SSD is soldered to the motherboard. 256 is going to be considered quite small in two years.

I'll wait 2 years and buy one for about $500....

SSD is not soldered to motherboard!

Among the issues iFixit has with the Retina display MacBook Pro is the fact that the battery is no longer screwed into the machine, and has instead been glued into place. This increases the chances that it will break during disassembly, and makes it particularly hard to fix the trackpad, as its cable goes under the battery.

In addition, the display assembly is completely fused, and there is no glass protecting it. Any failure with the new Retina display would likely need a full replacement.

And the exterior of the MacBook Pro is sealed with proprietary pentalobe screws that will prevent users from cracking it open.

As with the MacBook Air, the RAM on the new MacBook Pro is soldered onto the logic board, which means that it cannot be upgraded after it is purchased.

Back in stock !!

Don't forget to use promotion code "earlybird" and shop before noon for 7x reward points ! I received credit of $129.43 to my account !! Thank you OP bought 1 !!

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/apple...67795.html

Just bought one of these using the 12X GET12 promo code... the $95 coupon is back too.

Humm.. better to wait for the June release or get this one at a discount price?

I did the same.

Delivered yesterday after missing couple of delivery attempts. Came with Mountain Lion, big plus. Registered the warranty with no problem---didn't even need to send in proof of purchase.

Also on a side not, mine has the Samsung Retina screen and not the LG one. There are many reviews online saying that LG screens are prone to ghosting/burned-pixel issues. So, if all Datavision shipped out this past month were coming from the same batch, we should all feel pretty lucky.

There won't be new retina display Macbook Pro released in June. Only regular Macbook Pro (probably the last generation) and Macbook Air. Counting in the rewards* and FW cashback, this came out to be $1,593 which is $400 cheaper than the education price ($600 cheaper than the retail price) of the newer version. The new one has .1gHertz more CPU power and all other configuration are the same. I would personally not pay $400 more for that upgrade.

* I will buy a lens (if its price doesn't change until my rewards are released), so I definitely count my rewards as CB.

I do need to look into the warranty though... can't remember if I registered for that or not; where did you do that at? Was that part of the setup process?