As I read through this thread, I am playing with my own MacBook; Side to side I would have to say the viewing angle is just about as far as you can see the front of the screen, so 180 I guess. The vertical viewing angle seems fine as long as I tilt the screen back, however if it is tilted too far forward the image quality suffers quickly. I don’t think that any of this is sub par by any means and if you think your unit is defective you should call Apple support or bring it into an Apple Store to compare your unit to others on display.
I would also like to throw in my $.02 on the glossy screen issue if I may. I think that it is the most beautiful computer display I have ever seen in my life. The blacks are deep and rich, the whites pop off the screen and even sitting on my porch in broad daylight I can see the screen well enough to chat/surf, and that's wearing sunglasses! Sure I have to crank the brightness up to do that, but that's why Apple made the screen with such a high max brightness.
Great job Apple, you made my first Mac a great Mac.