The effects of graphic metaphor, gesture interaction, and form factor on e‐book performances and preferences

Abstract

AbstractReading e‐books on touch‐based mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet personal computer (PCs) are increasing. We conducted a comparative study on the usability of e‐books provided on smartphones and tablet PCs, which are typical touch‐based mobile devices. An experiment was carried out to see the effects of graphic metaphor and gesture interaction. This study evaluated reading speed, readability, similarity, and satisfaction for 16 combinations of e‐book interfaces (two Metaphor levels × four Display size and Screen modes × two Gesture levels). Overall, performance and subjective ratings showed better results on tablet PCs with larger fonts on a larger screen than on smartphones with smaller fonts on smaller screens. In the smartphone‐landscape mode, the effect of turning a page is a factor that hinders the speed of user reading. In contrast, the users’ readability, similarity, and satisfaction were higher when the page‐turning effect was provided. It showed faster reading speeds when a flicking interaction is provided on tablet PCs. From the standpoint of readability, the portrait mode was better on smartphones. Also, the tablet PC‐portrait mode was the most satisfactory.