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Comment by 1970-01-01 | Hacker News Reader

1970-01-01·

Why do almost all laptops not come with a built-in handle? That is the quintessence of a portable item. Forget the bag.

Weight. Packed size. Most people don't need a handle, so why waste volume and material on it?

I think the Toshiba Toughbook had a handle. I think many folks here, given their druthers, would design something that looked like a Toughbook, then become disenchanted with it for various completely foreseeable reasons, and go back to using their standard issue MBP.

It's worth noting that by the time you make a rugged laptop it's actually bulkier than a small laptop bag with a handle.

*Panasonic Toughbook

(There were generations of these with handles, but at least in the early ones, the handle didn't dominate the dimensions - things like "removable drives encased in impact gel" did.)

Hah, I guess I'm a sucker for alliteration. Thanks for the correction.

The original “Toilet Seat” iBook from 1999is the only one I can recall that came with a handle: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/ode-to-the-clamshell-ibook-g3...

Also the eMate 300! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300 (from 1997)

(And if you go much farther back, the TRS-80 Model 4p - but "sewing machine class" portables kind of had to.)

To me a handle implies that the object is somewhat sturdy. It’s okay to have it bump against other things and to set it on the floor.

Laptops ape notebooks (the paper kind). When’s the last time you saw a notebook with a handle?

I'm with the parent. But then again, my bag also has a shoulder strap, two large compartments and a ½doz pockets. I carry 1-2 laptops along with an assortment of tools, cables and adapters. I serve to live.

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