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MNeagle
6th July 2010, 12:31 PM
(Mashable) -- It takes longer to read books on a Kindle 2 or an iPad versus a printed book, Jakob Nielsen of product development consultancy Nielsen Norman Group discovered in a recent usability survey.

The study found that reading speeds declined by 6.2 percent on the iPad and 10.7 percent on theKindle compared to print. However, Nielsen conceded that the differences in reading speed between the two devices were not "statistically significant because of the data's fairly high variability" -- in other words, the study did not prove that the iPad allowed for faster reading than the Kindle.

A total of 24 participants (10 is about average for a usability survey) were given short stories by Ernest Hemingway to read in print and oniPads, Kindles and desktop PCs. Hemingway was chosen because his work utilizes simple language and is "pleasant and engaging to read."

The narratives took an average of 17 minutes and 20 seconds from start to finish -- enough time to get readers fully "immersed" in the stories, Nielsen explained.

After reading, participants filled out a brief comprehension questionnaire to make sure no one had skimmed through a story. Users rated their satisfaction with each device; the iPad, Kindle and printed book scored 5.8, 5.7 and 5.6, on a scale of 7, respectively, while the PC received an average score of 3.6 -- due, in part, because reading on a PC reminded readers of work.

Participants also complained about the weight of the iPad and the Kindle's weak contrast.

As Nielsen notes, the satisfaction ratings on the survey are promising for the future of e-readers and tablet devices. However, I can see universities and businesses taking less kindly to e-readers if further studies prove that they handicap reading speed.

What do you think of the results? Do you prefer to read on an e-reader, tablet or in print -- and why?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/05/kindle.ipad.reading.mashable/index.html

Ironfield
7th July 2010, 01:26 AM
Personally I like to sit down with a good book laze about on the couch or in my comfy chair, the feel of the books weight and the texture of the paper and the smell. I may be only 23 and live in an age of great technological advancements, but I guess I am old fashioned at heart. I don’t want to bugger about reading on a monitor screen anything more than 3 pages long in one sitting, beyond that I struggle.

I’ve only tried the e-book on my mates’ iPad once and whilst an interesting experience it didn’t really suit me. Similar to reading on the monitor, plus I had to worry about battery life and you cant exactly hold them any which way like you would with a book.

What’s everyone else’s take on the e-books and the associated e-readers?

-Ironfield

uranian
7th July 2010, 02:04 AM
never tried an e-reader, but i agree about books. i don't mind reading up to a few pages of text online, but if it's hundreds of pages, i prefer a book.

SLV^GLD
7th July 2010, 10:42 AM
I definitely prefer books. I love books.

However, I find a great deal of utility in "e-books". I parenthesize because I have never used a device expressly designed to read e-books nor have I ever read a digital document composed in actual e-book format.

What I have done is load PDFs or load converted to PDF/mobipocket format documents on my mobile phone. What this allows is for me to have a collection of books at my fingertips. I can read when waiting in traffic (as a passenger). I can read while taking a dump at work. I can read on a plane, in a subway and on a patio. Now, I could read dead trees in all these places as well but then I'd have to lug a bookbag full of the various books every single place I went. I'm already carrying the phone. Allowing the phone to hold the words instead of stacks of paper is majorly convenient for me. Additionally, the type of material I prefer to read is really hard to come by in print, is expensive if you can get it in print and tends to be inflammatory to most people who might see the title in my hand. A shared PDF from an online friend mitigates all of these inconveniences.

I still read books and I still buy books and I will never stop.
I am grateful for portable document formats and for having a multi-purpose device capable of storing and displaying them at my leisure.

Books recently read on my blackberry phone:

Death of the West - Patrick Buchanan
Unintended Consequences - John Ross
Money Parasitism - Vladimir Nuri
Secrets of the Federal Reserve - Eustace Mullins
National Economy and the Banking System - Robert Owen

Books recently read in print:

The Creature from Jekyll Island - Edward Griffin
Kingdom of Fear - Hunter Thompson
Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
Mycelium Running - Paul Stamets
Legacy of Ashes - Tm Weiner

Gaillo
7th July 2010, 12:52 PM
I read both types of media, and each has its advantages.

I like paper books for their durability, quick access to any part of the book, and the fact they never run out of battery power.

I like reading on my iPod Touch because I can read in the dark, it's lighter weight and doesn't fatigue my arms when reading for long periods of time, and I can (and do) carry over 2,000 books around with me in my shirt pocket.

I haven't noticed that I read any faster or slower with either media... although I can toss a book aside in a hurry after reading whereas the iPod takes a bit of TLC to turn off and gently replace on the table or in my pocket.

Thumbs up to both! 8)