Jakob Nielsen: iPad and Kindle Reading Speeds - Page 2

LDBoblo · 07-05-2010, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tompe

But they are not saying that. They are saying that your standard speed will be slower on an electronic book compared to a printed book. Which is not surprising because typography influence the speed since good typography will reduce the number of mistakes (e.g. loosing track of a line) you do. And it is the mistakes that reduces the speed.

Not necessarily...it's been demonstrated that reading speed is not significantly affected by advanced typography in some cases.
You might enjoy the video at the following link:
http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS07

tdmsu · 07-05-2010, 04:32 PM

The only time speed mattered to me was when I was reading for school and was under deadline. Now I ascribe to HarryT's notion of taking time and losing myself in the story (at least that happens in the best books I've read)

tompe · 07-05-2010, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Not necessarily...it's been demonstrated that reading speed is not significantly affected by advanced typography in some cases.
You might enjoy the video at the following link:
http://live.visitmix.com/MIX10/Sessions/DS07

I know that some "truths" have been kind of debunked. But I thought that to small leading space and long lines causing slower reading speed was non-controversial.

SameOldStory · 07-06-2010, 10:10 AM

IF it takes longer to read an ebook than a paper book there are 2 things to consider.

1 - You will spend more time enjoying your book. The book is therefore more valuable.
2 - The publishers will sell less books to you in your lifetime. Without a price increase they'll loose money and so they just have to jack up the price.

TGS · 07-06-2010, 10:16 AM

I'd be interested to know, (though I doubt this study could tell me), whether there is any difference in what might be thought of of the aesthetics of reading between different reading devices. The construction of a story world from the meagre prompts of a text, the way in which the construction of the text constrains the building of story worlds, how readers represent story worlds, and so on are all issues in theory of literature and are (nearly) all based on the assumption that presentation of literature is in a particular format . namely a paper book. What difference does it make to these processes if the format of presentation is changed I wonder.

Sischa · 07-06-2010, 11:33 AM

Where the hell is the point in reading speed? And why should it be related to the medium i use to read (iPad, e-ink, paper, ...)?

I generally don't like statistics cause most of them are just bullshit and you always have to look close to see if they don't manipulate the facts.

But in this case i ask myself how they came to their conclusions. The reading speed is something which is determinded by factors like me (nr.1 i would say cause i decide how fast i read), my enviroment (hard to read fast while watching TV

) but less to nothing it will be determined by the hardware i use.

So another useless statistic in my eyes ...

leebase · 07-06-2010, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Have you tried reading on a Tablet PC? I'd be interested to know whether that has the appeal of the iPad, or the dislike of the PC, for you.

If the tablet wasn't too heavy and the reader software allowed me to adjust the font size and screen brightness, I would expect the same results. I don't think the iPad has a magical LCD screen, though it does ace a nice one. I think that reading long form on a computer strains your eyes for reasons other than LCD screen technology

Lee

kjk · 07-06-2010, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sischa

Where the hell is the point in reading speed? And why should it be related to the medium i use to read (iPad, e-ink, paper, ...)?

Part of that though is because screen technology has advanced where it isn't as much of an issue for you. Some of the early concerns of e-Ink when it was first prototyped were refresh speed, ghosting, contrast, and page turn speed, all of which might have impaired normal reading speed for some people.

My understanding is that this is just one aspect Nielsen and his team tested-they are interested in the whole transition from paper to eReading-and there was no (to my knowledge) quantitative testing of this kind done before.

People who have never used eReaders may also wonder if reading speed is an issue. Tests like this may help set their minds at ease.

BenLee · 07-06-2010, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjk

People who have never used eReaders may also wonder if reading speed is an issue. Tests like this may help set their minds at ease.

That's a good point. This is something that I initially thought about as well when I first discovered e-ink. I saw some videos and the text seemed to appear quickly, but somewhat gradually. I questioned whether I would be annoyed by the additional delay. But then I thought about the days when I used a 14.4kbps modem and decided that if I could sit through THAT, e-ink would be a breeze.

Sischa · 07-06-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjk

Part of that though is because screen technology has advanced where it isn't as much of an issue for you. Some of the early concerns of e-Ink when it was first prototyped were refresh speed, ghosting, contrast, and page turn speed, all of which might have impaired normal reading speed for some people.

My understanding is that this is just one aspect Nielsen and his team tested-they are interested in the whole transition from paper to eReading-and there was no (to my knowledge) quantitative testing of this kind done before.

People who have never used eReaders may also wonder if reading speed is an issue. Tests like this may help set their minds at ease.

My first reader was the iRex iLead and it was sloooow when it comes to page turns. But it still was not relevant compared the the time it takes to turn a book page.

Logseman · 07-06-2010, 10:06 PM

I have the idea that you read more quickly if you like what you're reading. When a book is called a page-turner, I would say it's because you can read it quickly because, for reasons such as a thrilling plot, it takes all of your concentration. While we don't go through our life 100% concentrated in what we do, including reading, those special books have the ability of completely focusing you in what you read, not even letting space for the little musings of our mind.

07-06-2010, 10:10 AM	#19
SameOldStory My True Self Posts: 3,126 Karma: 66242098 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor, Galactic Center Device: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	Now I understand why Publishers are trying to keep prices high. IF it takes longer to read an ebook than a paper book there are 2 things to consider. 1 - You will spend more time enjoying your book. The book is therefore more valuable. 2 - The publishers will sell less books to you in your lifetime. Without a price increase they'll loose money and so they just have to jack up the price. Last edited by SameOldStory; 07-06-2010 at 10:29 AM.

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07-05-2010, 04:32 PM	#17
tdmsu Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Michigan, USA Device: Onyx Boox Nova2	The only time speed mattered to me was when I was reading for school and was under deadline. Now I ascribe to HarryT's notion of taking time and losing myself in the story (at least that happens in the best books I've read)

07-06-2010, 10:16 AM	#20
TGS Country Member Posts: 9,058 Karma: 7676767 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Liseuse: Irex DR800. PRS 505 in the house, and the missus has an iPad.	I'd be interested to know, (though I doubt this study could tell me), whether there is any difference in what might be thought of of the aesthetics of reading between different reading devices. The construction of a story world from the meagre prompts of a text, the way in which the construction of the text constrains the building of story worlds, how readers represent story worlds, and so on are all issues in theory of literature and are (nearly) all based on the assumption that presentation of literature is in a particular format . namely a paper book. What difference does it make to these processes if the format of presentation is changed I wonder.

07-06-2010, 11:33 AM	#21
Sischa Evangelist Posts: 428 Karma: 2370 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Device: Nokia 770, Ilead, Cybook G3, Kindle DX, Kindle 2, iPad, Kindle 3, PW	Where the hell is the point in reading speed? And why should it be related to the medium i use to read (iPad, e-ink, paper, ...)? I generally don't like statistics cause most of them are just bullshit and you always have to look close to see if they don't manipulate the facts. But in this case i ask myself how they came to their conclusions. The reading speed is something which is determinded by factors like me (nr.1 i would say cause i decide how fast i read), my enviroment (hard to read fast while watching TV ) but less to nothing it will be determined by the hardware i use. So another useless statistic in my eyes ...

07-06-2010, 10:06 PM	#26
Logseman Orisa Posts: 2,000 Karma: 1035571 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Onyx Poke 5	I have the idea that you read more quickly if you like what you're reading. When a book is called a page-turner, I would say it's because you can read it quickly because, for reasons such as a thrilling plot, it takes all of your concentration. While we don't go through our life 100% concentrated in what we do, including reading, those special books have the ability of completely focusing you in what you read, not even letting space for the little musings of our mind.

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