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 ]
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Book trade runs for charity

Five runners attempting the 26-mile marathon in aid of the Book Trade Charity (BTBS) yesterday (... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's book promoting veganism gets mixed reception from experts

Author Ruby Roth's new book 'Vegan Is Love' discusses how food gets from the farm to the kitchen table. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mixed reception #kitchen table


Getting a read on the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

More than 400 authors are scheduled over the two days at USC. Writers as varied as Anne Rice and Jeff Kinney will hold court.What do Sugar Ray Leonard, Judy Blume, Betty White, T.C. Boyle, Rodney King, Joseph Wambaugh and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have in common? They're just a few of the high-profile... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #anne rice #jeff kinney #judy blume #rodney king #kareem abdul-jabbar


Book sales down 8% at WHS

WH Smith has reported a 3% rise in group profit year-on-year for the six months to 29th February... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadians File Class-Actions Against E-Book Publishers

Last week, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple and five publishers for allegedly colluding on ebook prices, and class-actions suits in the U.S. continue. Three Canadian law firms are filing class-action suits against as well ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #allegedly colluding


Apple vs. Amazon: Who Is Really Fixing E-Book Prices?

A brouhaha is shaping up: Apple and book publishers square off against Amazon and the DOJ over the price of an ebook. Who's right? CIO.com's Tom Kaneshige looks back to a Whiz Kid from the '90s for answers. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julie Andrews, Culture Clash and more on arts at Festival of Books

Schedule for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.This weekend, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books takes place at USC and includes arts-related performances, talks and readings . See events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/program-schedule/ for the complete schedule. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CourseSmart may expand into trade books

E-textbook rental specialist Coursesmart is considering expanding its offer to trade titles, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder Blog: Pulitzer Fiction Snub Has Book Publishers Fuming

An unconventional collection of novels failed to generate a consensus among the Pulitzer board members. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fifty Shades of Grey' by E.L. James is selling books (and more)

'Fifty Shades of Grey' by E.L. James and sequels are an ebook and paperback phenomenon that is also causing a sales spike in sex shops. How did it all happen?The staff of the Pleasure Chest, a high-end West Hollywood sex shop, were first tipped to the "Fifty Shades of Grey" phenomenon by their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pulitzer Prize for Malcolm X book

The late Manning Marable has won the Pulitzer Prize for history, honoured for a Malcolm X book he worked on for decades, but did not live to see published. For the first time in 35 years, no fiction prize was given. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book world expresses disappointment, outrage over Pulitzer snub

Pulitzer juror Susan Larson said she and the rest of the fiction jury are 'shocked … angry … and very disappointed' that the Pulitzer board elected not to choose a 2012 fiction winner. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Coming Book Wars: Apple vs. Amazon vs. Google vs. the U.S.

Unresolved conflicts among publishers, sellers, libraries, and the U.S. Justice Department cloud the future of the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon’s E-Book Pricing a Constant Thorn for Publishers

In February, the Educational Development Corporation said it would remove all its titles from Amazon, more evidence of the tumult over who gets to decide how much a book costs. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book sales growth is slowing

Publishers hoping that digital sales would make up for the decline in physical books are worried. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Real Bad Guy in the E-Book Price Fixing Case

This week, the Obama administration’s Justice Department struck a great legal blow against our open market for books, and indeed against open markets in America. Even though online retailer Amazon has captured more than 50 percent of many key book markets—like the one for ebooks—antitrust... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How to Give Away 500,000 Books

When looking at an effort with the scale of World Book Night U.S.—half a million books will be given away to strangers across all 50 states on April 23—it’s helpful to consider some numbers: 25,000 “givers” have volunteered to give away their allotment of books to people, many of whom they’ve... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple: E-book price-fixing accusation 'simply not true'

Apple Inc.  is denying antitrust charges filed against it and five major book publishers this week that accuse the companies of a price-fixing scheme to inflate the prices paid for electronic books. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An E-Book Argument: Are Fixed Prices Needed to Preserve Publishing?

Alleged collusion aside, the publishing industry's agency pricing model may actually protect the long-term interests of everyone in the ebook value chain. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kids' book parody gets a squeaky-clean version

Adam Mansbach's picture book 'Go the F--- To Sleep' is now available in a kid-friendly version called 'Seriously, Go To Sleep.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adam mansbach #picture book