Here's some beautiful news to our ears: tests taken among a 24-person sample group suggest that reading an e-book takes more time than reading a regular ole' book, and the iPad is actually easier to read than a Kindle device.
Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group studied the differences between the three book mediums and found that reading a short Hemingway story on the iPad took 6.2 percent more time to read than a book. The Kindle 2, on the other hand, took 10.7 percent more time to read. Test subjects gave the iPad a score of 5.8, the Kindle a 5.7 and the book a 5.6.
"They disliked that the iPad was so heavy and that the Kindle featured less-crisp gray-on-gray letters," said Nielsen in a summary. "People also disliked the lack of true pagination and preferred the way the iPad--actually, the iBook app--indicated the amount of text left in a chapter." He added that he sees a promising future for e-readers and tablet computers, and that he expects to see more high-quality screens in the future that will be great for reading--including the iPhone.
So, which do you like to read more? Your iPad, your Kindle, or your standard, hard-bound book? Let us know in the comments below! Or, check out the full study here.
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