If the Work Surface hinged open you would have to remove all your work/ your laptop off the top in order to access the Storage Pod, then close it and replace all your work/ your laptop back on top of the Work Surface. And that would be annoying. LAPOD has no hinges and no mechanical parts that could break over time. *Interestingly the first lap desk with storage was designed about 100 years ago and was comprised of a desk drawer that had been removed and had a plank of wood hinged to the top of it. It was a great idea at the time but with the benefit of hindsight we can see the hinged lid was, well... kind of annoying.