Special Report: Troubleshooting the MacBook Pro

I've had a 15" MacBook Pro for about a month now and used it in light
rotation (my primary Mac is desktop Power Mac). There have been several
nagging problems I've had with the MacBook Pro which this morning I
collected into a list. I find that, when viewed en masse, this list
indicates that I have received a lemon from Apple:

• Battery doesn't sit firmly in place; jiggle and knocks about in transport,
  shifts while working


• magsafe power adapter does not connect easily or consistently, often
  loses connection and fails to charge without any movement or disruption
  
• left shift key fails intermittently; was reseated at NYC Soho Genuis Bar,
  problem persists


• latch consistently fails to release lid of laptop, must often pry open with
  pen lid


• surface of laptop coming apart from base (1 mm space at left end)


• trackpad non-responsive for 1-2 seconds after using keyboard


• video periodically fails, displaying "checkerboard" effect for 5-10 second;
  shortly thereafter computer sleeps and will not wake again (screen is visible,
  it seems like the backlight is just off) without hard reboot

I called Apple tech support and requested a replacement unit rather than
a repair job (as advised by my regular Apple Authorized Repair Technician).
They disagreed that these issues were significant and that repair was the
required route.

I can understand repair for minor issues, but when the problems amount
to what is essentially a lemon unit, I feel that a full replacement unit is more
warranted. I don't understand why Apple sees fit to submit its customers to a
long, drawn-out repair process for product issues that are clearly related to
either manufacturing or design, especially when many of my problems are
clearly so widespread among others. I'm very disappointed in Apple's
response to my
issues.