Just thinking about this for a minute, maybe 16:9 panels are cheaper because they're more efficient to cut from the mother-glass? If the mother-glass is some compatible multiple of 16:9 in order to cut full-size (40" and above) TV's from, maybe cutting 16:10 14" laptop displays from it wastes more glass than cutting 16:9 14" displays from it?

At any rate, it seems like we all agree that 16:9 is a rubbish aspect ratio for a laptop screen. I can't wait for Lenovo to release a 16:10 version of my X1 extreme.