Jakob Nielsen Tests iPad and Kindle Reading Speeds
Do you read faster or slower on a device like an iPad or Kindle, in comparison with a physical book? The overall answer, according to usability expert Jakob Nielsen, is about 5 to 10 percent slower (with the same comprehension of what was read). That's statistically significant, though not all that much slower. (We suspect it may have to do with years of familiarity with the form factor of the book.) More interesting was that on a 1 to 7 scale, users rated their satisfaction at 5.8 for the iPad, 5.7 for the Kindle, and 5.6 for the physical book, with the traditional PC trailing behind at only 3.6.
You write
"More interesting was that on a 1 to 7 scale, users rated their satisfaction at 5.8 for the iPad, 5.7 for the Kindle, and 5.6 for the physical book, with the traditional PC trailing behind at only 3.6."
However, this is somewhat misleading. Those who read the original article will see that the sample size is quite small (27) and so 5.8, 5.7, and 5.6 for the ebooks and the real book is certainly a statistical tie. The writeup doesn't make clear whether the difference between those books and the PC was statistically significant or not.
I'm just trying to get people to read the original - there's a limit to how detailed I can get. You're certainly right that the satisfaction ratings for the iPad, Kindle, and book are a tie, but I found it interesting that they were so much higher than the PC (I'm assuming they surveyed the same people because it wouldn't make sense not to).