Study Finds Reading on an E-Reader Slower and Less Relaxing Than A Printed Book

The publishing industry may be rushing to embrace the new e-readers technology. But will users find the experience of curling up with an electronic device to be as enjoyable as the good old fashioned printed word? And how will the new technologies shape the ways in which and the speed with which we consume books?

The Nielsen Norman Group released the results of a study earlier this month that sheds some light on this subject. According to its research, reading information in an electronic format is slower than reading the same information in print.

The study gave 24 individuals a short story by Ernest Hemingway and compared the speeds with which they completed reading it in a printed book format, on a PC, on an iPad, and on a Kindle. On average, the stories took 17 minutes and 20 seconds to read. The study found that readers finished the short story on the iPad at a 6.2% lower reading speed than they did the printed book. And the Kindle was 10.7% slower than print. According to the study's authors, the difference between the iPad and the Kindle is statistically insignificant, so they could not conclude whether the iPad or the Kindle offered the fastest reading speed. However, neither of these new e-readers compared to the speed with which people read printed books.

Following their use of each device, participants in the study were asked to rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 7. The iPad, Kindle and the printed book all scored quire high: 5.8, 5.7, and 5.6 respectively. The PC however scored a 3.6, indicating a far less satisfying reading experience than the other tools.

The study also elicited open-ended comments from participants, and according to the Nielsen Norman Group, many of these were predictable: the iPad is heavy. The Kindle's grey-on-grey lettering is unappealing. But surprisingly, many users noted that reading a printed book was more relaxing than using an e-reader. And they said they "felt uncomfortable with the PC because it reminded them of work."

The researchers conclude that the future for e-readers is promising. Indeed "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, they also note that "such products will succeed only if the reading experience is much better than the misery of reading from PC monitors."

What are your experiences with e-readers? Do you think your reading is slower? Do you find it more or less enjoyable? Or is it simply -- as is the case with many new technologies -- simply different?

Photo Credit: Flickr