I'm still looking for ways to soften the ride up front on my Dahon Vitesse, I'm sure that there's plenty of scope for manufacturers to find elegant solutions to such problems. It's curious how, due to the multi-functionality of folders, it's not often apparent in advance the benefits of certain design issues. E.g. I bought a thudbuster some months back which makes the folder package a lot less tidy, at least vertically. But vertical size makes no great difference and in fact with the saddle extended the 4 inches or so outwards it's enough that I can wheel the bike holding the saddle comfortably, whereas with the saddle fully inserted into the seat tube there's no way to roll the bike. So 2 improvements are made and vertical size is sacrificed, but it's worth it.

I think a suspension stem is likely a good solution for folding bike font end harshness and I can imagine the pivot being part of a folding mechanism too. . . given that quite a few Dahon owners find the cockpit cramped (as I used to before I switched to a thudbuster which moves the saddle backwards) something of this sort could solve multiple probems. If folders were more popular I'm sure more 3rd party companies would be developing add-on products.