You get a nice, perfect rectangle. It goes nicely with all the other rectangles in the product (case, keyboard, trackpad). Two lines of symmetry everywhere. Now the main rectangle has a big chunk out of it marring it and removing the horizontal symmetry. The larger bezel keeps everything looking nice. It's not like an extra 1/2 inch on the top is going to let me put my laptop anywhere easier. (Except on a plane while the person in front of me is reclining. Which happens a couple times a year, I can live with that, compared to staring at the gash every day.)