Samsung Ativ Book 7 review: The look is fine; the feel is not

Benchmarks are the best way to gauge a notebook’s prowess with applications such as office suites, photo and video editors, video players, games, and the like. Aesthetics are another important consideration, because you'll likely be staring at the thing for the next several years. By those measures, Samsung’s $1060 Ativ Book 7 Ultrabook (model NP740U3E-K01UB) is a fine machine. But a notebook must also feel good in your hands—unless you rely on dictation software, you have no other way to use it. And on that score, I found this laptop a major disappointment. ROBERT CARDINSamsung Ativ Book 7 is pretty enough to look at, but actually using it can be problematic for touch-typists. The Ativ Book 7 has a gorgeous brushed-aluminum finish. But if you wear a watch with a metal wristband, take it off before you lay hands on this computer’s keyboard. The noise produced as one metal scrapes the other is enough to curdle a glass of milk into cottage cheese. Reliance on integrated graphics doomed the Ativ Book 7's gaming performance. After my ears recovered from the horror, I once again laid my hands on the home row of the Chiclet-style keyboard. Such shallow-travel keyboards are common among Ultrabooks—they’re practically a necessity to achieve the required thinness—and I’ve touch-typed on more than my fair share of them. But the keys on the Ativ Book 7 travel such a short distance and deliver so little tactile feedback that I found myself constantly making typos. To read this... Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #fair share

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Samsung Ativ Book 7 review: The look is fine; the feel is not'


Morpurgo in book festival line-up

War Horse author Michael Morpurgo and journalist John Pilger are among the guests at this year's London Literature Festival. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Granddad's diaries inspire children's book winner

The  chance discovery of diaries depicting the horrors of war through the eyes of a boy soldier inspired the book that has won this year's highest honour for children's literature. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #highest honour


AUDIO: Does booze ruin book clubs?

Ana Sampson, co-author of The Book Club Bible, tells The World At One's Martha Kearney about the do's and dont's of literary circles. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2012-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary circles


Review: 'Engines of Change' by Paul Ingrassia details key cars

In 'Engines of Change,' Paul Ingrassia looks at history through 15 iconic cars, including the Ford Model T, Chevrolet Corvette, Volkswagen Beetle, Toyota Prius.It would be impossible to count the number of automotive makes and models that have come and gone since the car was first invented — or... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


How fast can they write? E-books push writer productivity

A dozen books a year? Some writers are accelerating the pace in this brave new world of ebooks. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dozen books


Apple E-Book Lawsuit: Steve Jobs Swayed Publisher, Complaint Alleges

The complaint says that Jobs was enlisted to sell high-ranking officials in the publisher’s parent company on the wisdom of the proposed pricing scheme. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Books Plus in Penzance changes hands

Books Plus in Penzance has been sold to new owners and will soon change its name to The Edge of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The rise of sexy books

Erika Leonard laughs a lot, a deep wheezy chortle. And why wouldn't she? Leonard, a 49-year-old overnight publishing sensation, is laughing all the way to the bank. In the past few months the former TV executive has had her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, dominate the New York Times... Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv executive #fifty shades #publishing houses #film rights


Flooved offers digital book subs

A start-up digital textbook platform has agreed terms with 12 publishers ahead of a 1st September... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #agreed terms #1st september


Alohomora! Free Harry Potter books coming to Kindle

Harry Potter has joined the Kindle lending library.Amazon.com announced Thursday that on June 19, the ebook editions of J.K. Rowling's seven Potter novels will become part of the Kindle service available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Members can download a book for free once a month. Amazon's... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #announced thursday #ebook editions #financial terms #online retailer #licensing agreement #pottermore website


Weinstein Books Rises, Again, With New Team

It might not have had as many lives as your average cat, but Weinstein Books has gone through more than a few reincarnations. The publishing unit tied to Bob and Harvey Weinstein was unveiled in 2001, when the independent film-producing brothers were intent on creating a mini–media empire,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #weinstein books #harvey weinstein #media empire #book division #film studio #books division #full-time staff #latest iteration


New book 'festival' for Charing Cross Road

Foyles and Blackwell are teaming up for the first time to organise a joint Charing Cross Road... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Goldsmith Row Book Market set for Sunday launch

Booksellers including Foyles, Newham Books, Pages of Hackney and The Book Box will be among those... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book box


Collingridge joins Safari Books Online

Enhanced Editions co-founder Peter Collingridge is to join digital learning library Safari Books... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


'Unintended Consequences' by Edward Conrad: already 'the most hated book of the year'?

'Unintended Consequences' by former Bain Capital managing director Edward Conard argues that economic inequality is a good thing rather than a problem. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unintended consequences #good thing


What Will Become of the Paper Book?

The change has come more slowly to books than it came to music or to business correspondence, but by now it feels inevitable. The digital era is upon us. The Twilights and Freedoms of 2025 will be consumed primarily as ebooks. In many ways, this is good news. Books will become cheaper and more... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #feels inevitable #digital era #easily accessible #give rise #literary culture


The Avengers, Comic Books and the Future of Storytelling

The Avengers may have racked up more than $200 million in box office receipts during its weekend opening, but the comic books on which the movie is based may tell us more about the future of storytelling. Continue reading at Knowledge@Wharton

[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2012-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #comic books #$200 million


Frankfurt Book Fair features Kiwi authors

Kiwi authors such as Patricia Grace and Lloyd Jones are seeing increased interest in their books being translated into German ahead of this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kiwi authors #patricia grace #increased interest


Seven-book fantasy series for Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury has bought world English rights in the first three books in a seven-book fantasy... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Announcing the Return of the Audio Book Club

In the May issue of the Slate Book Review, Meghan O’Rourke writes about Are You My Mother?, cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s therapy-fueled exploration of her relationship with her mom. Writes O’Rourke: Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |