Paper reads faster than e-readers, but the iPad is the best option

While paper still reads faster than any e-book on the market, by at least 6.2 percent, it seems like people are enjoying iPads and Kindles more than they’re enjoying books these days.

During the first part of a Nielsen Norman study, they found that the iPad read 6.2 percent slower than a traditionally printed book. The iPad’s number one competitor, the Kindle, was even slower than an iPad, coming in at 10.2 percent slower. What’s it mean? If you’re planning on cramming for an exam or barreling through your favourite Emily Bronte novel, you’re probably going to need a paper version of the text you’re reading—you’ll save a lot of time.

While there’s no mention of what exactly is slowing down the read, it’s being speculated that display quality and font availability are playing a role in slowing down reading speeds.

But, it’s not all doom and gloom for e-reading devices. In a weird twist, both the Kindle, and the iPad scored higher than traditional books on an “enjoyability scale.” We’re not exactly sure how you can enjoy the written word more on one device over another, all things being equal, but the iPad ranked 5.8, the Kindle 5.7, and books came in at 5.6 on the Nielsen Norman scale.

It almost makes the whole study laughable — “I enjoy this ‘the’ on the iPad a little bit more than that ‘the’ in the book over there.”  Maybe people just have an affinity to Palatino. Who knows.

Keep in mind that the study focused on the e-reader aspects of the device, and had nothing to do with other applications or features.

Article Via Electronista

Photo  Credit: David Bisset

PS.  We love the iPad.  As evidenced by these photos of contributors Simon Wicks and Susan Pigott