Actually I think it does have a bit to do with construction. When you apply the forces, (yes, they will be slightly more since the laptop is more massive), generally the weak points are near the hinge of the screen where there isn't a lot of structural integrity to keep it from breaking. A remote is usually encased in one solid piece of plastic, aside from the battery cover. Think of the way phones are designed...the back plates are pop off on impact to help absorb the force. Same idea if you throw a big laptop which is two chunks of plastic snapped together vs. a remote that is a small piece of solid plastic.