If I pay a gorgeous screen, I want that screen CLOSE to me, so I can benefit from it as much as possible. I'm not sure how I feel about a notebook that advertises "Look at our awesome hinge that moves the screen as far from you as possible!"
Are you really complaining about the screen being set back by 1"?
I actually think most laptops have the screen weirdly far away from the user- The only recent laptop that I really like for this reason is the Aspire Switch 12, which is an absolutely superb laptop: