Samsung brings curved displays to the PC with new Ativ One 7 http://goo.gl/kGs8n7

Samsung sure loves its curved display HDTVs, and now it's expanding the design trend to cover PCs as well. Today the company announced its brand new Ativ One 7 Curved, an all-in-one Windows machine that features a slight curve in its screen that isn't as readily apparent compared to what we've seen from its recent 4K TVs. It's a 27-inch, 1920x1080 panel with pretty fantastic viewing angles and vivid color reproduction. But it could stand to be a bit sharper. The resolution is no match for Apple's flagship iMac with Retina Display, and it even falls short of Cupertino's regular 27-inch model. When you're sitting so close to a PC, those extra pixels can make a world of difference. Oh well. If you're wondering just how curved this thing is, Samsung lists the curvature at 4000R and says it tricks your eyes into thinking the display is even larger than it is. The upsides of a curved screen (immersion, less glare) are more obvious when you're sitting right up against it instead of looking at it from six feet away on your couch.

samsung ativ one 7 3

The curve is really the only standout aspect of the Ativ One 7 Curved's design. It's got a metal frame, but around back, you'll find a glossy design that's a magnet for dust and fingerprints, which takes something away from the overall build quality. The also-curved silver stand is a nice touch, however. Samsung's built in a pair of 10W speakers and says the Ativ One 7 is capable of lossless audio transmission through APT-X, if you're without a pair of more powerful desktop speakers.

That curve is really the only standout thing here

With its Intel Core i5 chipset and 8GB of RAM standard, the Ativ One 7 isn't exactly a screaming powerhouse, but should prove sufficient for your (very) basic gaming and movie watching needs. There's no dedicated GPU, so again, don't pin your hopes on this being your next primary gaming machine. That's not what Samsung's building it for. Instead, this one seems targeted at your family or living room — to sit not far from your Samsung curved HDTV. Inside you also get a 1TB, 5400rpm hard drive with "embedded flash drive." With four USB ports (2 of them USB 3) and an SD / media card reader, you're pretty well covered for ports. And when we turn to software, some of Samsung's extra features built overtop Windows 8.1 are pretty useful if you own a Galaxy smartphone. SideSync 3.0 lets you receive texts and calls from your phone on the PC, and you can also fully control your smartphone by mirroring its screen on the Ativ One 7's 27-inch display. Samsung will start shipping the Ativ One 7 in the first quarter of 2015 for $1,299.

Samsung Ativ One 7 Curved