Laptop hinges - are they always so poor?
Discussion
Interesting that everyone references Apple as having such good quality when a few years ago Apple was notorious for hinge failures (Titanium PowerBook G4)
From Wikipedia but certainly true:
"Quality issues
The hinges on the Titanium PowerBook display are notorious for breaking under typical use. Usually the hinge (which is shaped like an L) will break just to the left of where it attaches to the lower case on the right hinge, and just to the right on the left hinge (where the right hinge is on the right side of the computer when the optical drive is facing the user). When the 667 MHz and 800 MHz "DVI" PowerBooks were introduced, Apple changed the hinge design slightly to strengthen it. At least one manufacturer began producing sturdier replacement hinges to address this problem, though actually performing the repair is difficult as the display bezel is glued together. In addition some discolouration, bubbling or peeling of paint on the outer bezel occurred, notably around the area where the palm would rest while using the trackpad. This appeared on early models but not on later Titanium PowerBooks."
And this fault was linked to that one:
"Display issues
The video cable is routed around the left side hinge. With heavy use, this will cause the cable to weaken. Many owners have reported display problems such as random lines or a jumbled screen; although few have replaced just the video cable to successfully resolve this problem. There is also a backlight cable that might fail; one option is to replace either or both cables before replacing LCDs."
From Wikipedia but certainly true:
"Quality issues
The hinges on the Titanium PowerBook display are notorious for breaking under typical use. Usually the hinge (which is shaped like an L) will break just to the left of where it attaches to the lower case on the right hinge, and just to the right on the left hinge (where the right hinge is on the right side of the computer when the optical drive is facing the user). When the 667 MHz and 800 MHz "DVI" PowerBooks were introduced, Apple changed the hinge design slightly to strengthen it. At least one manufacturer began producing sturdier replacement hinges to address this problem, though actually performing the repair is difficult as the display bezel is glued together. In addition some discolouration, bubbling or peeling of paint on the outer bezel occurred, notably around the area where the palm would rest while using the trackpad. This appeared on early models but not on later Titanium PowerBooks."
And this fault was linked to that one:
"Display issues
The video cable is routed around the left side hinge. With heavy use, this will cause the cable to weaken. Many owners have reported display problems such as random lines or a jumbled screen; although few have replaced just the video cable to successfully resolve this problem. There is also a backlight cable that might fail; one option is to replace either or both cables before replacing LCDs."
Having worked in a school supporting over a hundred laptop users busted hinges were the most common failure. Usually caused by shutting paperwork inside the laptop and using it as a folder. 
We'd try and keep the laptops going for five years but not many survived that long. Most had a hard life and were moved around constantly during the day. The Apples were much better but not immune to it.
We'd try and keep the laptops going for five years but not many survived that long. Most had a hard life and were moved around constantly during the day. The Apples were much better but not immune to it.
Digitalize said:
That was a very long time ago to be fair, before I started owning them.
I just checked and apparently that model went out of production in September 2003! It didn't seem that long when I posted it 
I think that Apple does tend to be reasonably good for build quality though. Certainly not the best, but a fair bit better than average.
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