Users read SLOWER on Amazon’s Kindle 2 than with printed pages

Amazon’s Kindle 2 and the Barnes & Noble Nook certainly provide convenience and with enough adoption they could significantly impact the paper ecosystem. Those are two good reasons to consider an e-book reader, but based on results from a recent test it seems that users still read faster on paper.

Nielson asked 24 users who are regular readers to read short stories on four mediums: the Kindle 2, iPad, a PC monitor and a printed page. Hands down when users read the printed page they finished faster than with any of the other tested mediums.

The iPad measured at 6.2% lower reading speed than the printed book, whereas the Kindle measured at 10.7% slower than print. However, the difference between the two devices was not statistically significant because of the data's fairly high variability. According to the study.

At first glance it’s a bit startling to see people reading faster on an iPad because the Kindle 2 is specifically designed to be easier on the eyes with its E Ink screen. Losing that reputation would be devastating for the Kindle 2 because Amazon would then need to quickly provide additional functionality in order to continue competing with Apple.

This study certainly highlights the likelihood that E Ink screens still have a lot of progress to make before they truly can replicate the printed page. And despite the slower reading speed, users loved their e-book readers. On a user satisfaction scale from 1 to 7, the “iPad, Kindle, and the printed book all scored fairly high at 5.8, 5.7, and 5.6, respectively. The PC, however, scored an abysmal 3.6.”

That’s in line with the significant growth e-book readers have seen in the last year, and fits with the continuing consumer trend of demanding efficiency and re-usability from their products. As with all studies, the more people participating the more accurate it becomes and 24 users is a fairly small sample size. Varying demographics may impact reading speed too particularly when comparing users who grew up using print versus users like millenials who grew up as digital natives.