Ask HN: Why don't we have laptops with adjustable screen height?
I travel a lot, and like a fairly compact and light laptop in the 14" range. My problem though, it's difficult to sit in a comfortable position. When your desk and chair are at the proper height, the screen is far too low. On my ultrabook, to line up with my eyes, the top of the screen needs to be another 15in higher. I end up having to hunch over and constantly look down to compensate. It seems like it would make sense to have a screen that can be raised up, and even forward, to give the illusion of a larger screen at the same time. Why are we not seeing these on the market? Anyone else have this problem or have any creative solutions?
I did a quick search and noticed some patents, and this laptop called the flybook that was released 7 years ago. It has a pivot on the base, and one where it connects to the display, so you can bring it forward at the same time while being able to properly adjust the angle. If I pickup my laptop and bring in it 7 or 8 inches closer, and the same length higher, it feels much more comfortable. Maybe it is a patent issue, but it seems like the major hardware manufacturers would work around it one way or another.
Flybook, 2006 - http://i.imgur.com/3nzQ1ZV.jpg Most likely is the physical difficulty of building the mechanical mechanism to allow the screen to be moved in height/position, while still remaining both light in weight and simultaneously rugged enough to withstand the expected lifetime of open/close/reposition movement operations.