iPad and Kindle Reading Speeds

Summary:
A study of people reading long-form text on tablets finds higher reading speeds than in the past, but they're still slower than reading print.

Many companies are betting big that electronic book readers will be one of the main ways people read long-form text in the future. However, such products will succeed only if the reading experience is much better than the misery of reading from PC monitors.
Various types of tablets ought to do better than desktop computers because they offer higher-resolution screens and a more comfy reading posture. But are tablets as good as printed books?
To find out, we conducted a readability study of people reading fiction on the two highest-profile tablets: Apple's iPad (first-generation) and Amazon's Kindle 2.
In contrast to our previous study of iPad application usability, we didn't study a range of user interfaces. Instead, we tested only the default iBook app. Testing a single iPad reader let us more easily compare it with the Kindle, which has only one user interface.
Also, in contrast to our previous analysis of Kindle content usability, we didn't consider non-linear content, such as Web pages or newspapers. Instead, we specifically focused on testing linear, narrative content because it's the primary use case for e-book readers.
Finally, we didn't test the many issues related to choosing and installing reading software, nor did we test the reading UI's learnability. We taught participants how to use the readers before we started measuring their reading speeds.

The Real Genius Of The Kindle? The Return Of ‘Unitasking’

Thomas E. Weber is the Editor of SmartMoney.com and a veteran business and technology journalist. A former Wall Street Journal senior editor and bureau chief, he created the paper’s first column devoted to the Internet. Those with short attention spans can follow him on Twitter @tweber, or email tweber@smartmoney.com .
When’s the last time you did only one thing at a time?
If you’re reading this—particularly if you’re in the news or content business—there’s a good chance you’ll have trouble answering that question. Technology has long been on a relentless march to “help” us do more things at once. Content is no exception. From TV news screens packed with crawls and overlays to online news, where that newspaper web site is apt to be one of umpteen browser tabs open at once, we’re all juggling ever-more threads of information simultaneously.
But one new technology is taking consumers in the opposite direction, and I’ve found it has unexpectedly helped me reclaim control of my attention span. It’s the Kindle. Unlike most digital devices, Amazon.com’s e-reader makes it difficult to multitask.

Much has been made already of the Kindle’s significance for publishers. By creating a payment infrastructure for digital reading matter, the Kindle is helping prod many to reconsider charging for their wares instead of relying on advertising revenue. Less discussed has been the Kindle’s tendency toward unitasking—but it’s clearly part of the device’s appeal, and it, too, offers lessons for publishers.
Here’s why. The problem right now isn’t just figuring out what type of content people will pay for. An overlooked part of the puzzle—one that’s finally beginning to get more attention—is what type of environment will foster that willingness to pay. And an environment that helps overloaded infovores regain their concentration could have appeal.