Abstract
In this paper authors examine readability and legibility of text on iPad and compare it partially to reading from computer screen and paper. Following previous research, two independent variables were measured: speed of reading (T) and subjective difficulty of reading (Z). 220 university students aged 18÷48 participated in the experiment and were divided into 11 groups of 20 participants. Key findings are as follows: Sans serif Gotham font is more readable and legible on iPad than Minion Pro serif font, although, when presented in bigger font sizes there is no significant difference between the two letter cases ; two column spread of text was the hardest to read, giving fewer number of characters per row ; layout of text with 79 characters per row and above should be readable and legible enough for reading texts on iPad ; considering quality of reading, texts displayed on iPad can replace texts printed on paper.
Highlights
With introduction of new reading technologies such as computer screens, mobile phone and tablets, researchers find it essential to analyse how the changes in the presentation mode and/or in medium affect readers’ ability to read different texts
Reading process is considered to be the ability of the reader to recognize and identify visual forms of language – written words and letters [e.g. 1, 2, 5] that are organized by the means of typography such as, among others, typeface or font size [3, 4]
When reading a text on iPad, several findings presented in this article seem important as a guideline for designing a text
Summary
With introduction of new reading technologies such as computer screens, mobile phone and tablets, researchers find it essential to analyse how the changes in the presentation mode and/or in medium affect readers’ ability to read different texts. Over the past two hundred years there were numbers of studies employing many different methods and exploring various aspects of texts in print and on screen but with three significant limitations: 1) there is extremely limited number of papers dealing with readability and legibility of text displayed on tablet computers and there is almost no guidelines for layout of applications, user interfaces and/or documents; 2) almost all of the research papers were presenting findings characteristic for English language texts and readers; and 3) there is very limited number of studies that compare readability and legibility of text between three different display technologies [5]1 Following those limitations, in this paper we present the results of comparative analysis of reading of the text
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