Author Archives: hak26

Project Sunflower: Time to Launch Application, Open a Book and Flip Page

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Well, we now have results regarding the time taken for the Apple iPad 2, Amazon Kindle DX and Motorola XOOM to render eBooks. We installed iBooks on iPad and the Kindle App for Android on XOOM. The Google Books app can’t be installed (yet) in UK due to copyright issues. We recorded the time taken by the devices to open the app, open a book, and flip a page.

Since there is no emulator that performs exactly like the physical device, we chose to take a practical approach to measure the times. The render times were measured in two ways. One, manually, and the other using a video camera.

Manual Method

Take a stopwatch in one hand, and have the other hand tap on the device. For example, when using an iPad, what we did was to hold the stopwatch in the left hand, and tap the iPad with the right hand. Start the stopwatch precisely when the iPad is tapped, and stop when the desired action is done. This method depends a lot on the user’s reflexes and you may have your doubts about the level of precision when it comes to results. Let me tell you, the results were surprisingly accurate. Read the figures to see for yourself.

Camera Method

This is a slightly more sophisticated way of measuring, though just as simple. All you need to know is the fps (frames per second) at which the video is recorded, and a video player that can replay the video frame-per-frame. Record the desired action on-camera, and then replay the video frame-per-frame. The number of frames traversed from the start to end of the task gives a more precise time taken to complete the task than the manual method.

Results

We measured the times for six free eBooks per device. Six readings were taken per task, and the average time for each task was calculated.

iPad (Average from six readings)


Kindle DX (Average from six readings)

There is no application load time as all the books are displayed directly on the Homescreen.

XOOM (Average from six readings)


Both the methods gave fairly similar results. The differences in the times on an average are:

The standard deviations for each method are shown below:

iPad (Standard Deviation)


Kindle DX (Standard Deviation)


XOOM (Standard Deviation)


The standard deviation tables show that the camera method showed less variation from the average as compared to the manual method in all but two cases, where the difference is only 1/100th of a second. These two cases may be safely ignored.

Although both methods gave fairly similar results, it must be noted that the manual method would give varied results for every test. It is completely dependent upon user reflexes, and slow reflexes could have seriously bad results. The camera method does take up more time, however the results are more accurate and dependable  So, I’d recommend the camera method.

All the recorded times are an average, and the times may change with the length of the books proportionally. These results give us a fair idea about the various devices when it comes to render speed and page flipping. The iPad and XOOM clearly render faster than Kindle DX. However, these results are only pertaining to the device capabilities and say nothing about the user experience. What makes an eBook reader good or bad does not depend only on the render speeds, but more so on the user experience the device has to offer. A detailed usability study of the devices will be undertaken soon which will shed light on the varied user experience, and help us better understand what the user expects from an eBook reader.

Project Sunflower: The Unboxing Experience

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The devices (Amazon Kindle DX, Apple iPad and Motorola XOOM) we ordered a few weeks back finally arrived yesterday. Here’s how it went.

Kindle DX

Amazon has made great use of the Kindle’s E Ink display, with instructions displayed on the screen, waiting to be read once the Kindle is unboxed. The display showed where the power button was, asking to slide and release, and also to plug in the Kindle to a power source. On starting, the Kindle was already setup to the Amazon account it was registered with and displayed a user’s guide. Very simple.

iPad

Setting up the iPad was a bit tedious. On switching on the device, it immediately showed the iTunes USB screen that indicated connecting the iPad to a PC/Mac for setup. The iPad does not start unless connected to a PC/Mac that has iTunes installed. Since I did not have a desktop with iTunes installed, it took some time to install iTunes just to setup the iPad and get the iPad to work. Once this was done, the on-screen instructions took care of the rest. This issue will be solved in the next iOS update allowing wireless setup of iOS devices, but presently its not supported.

XOOM

The XOOM looked different from the other two devices, as its primary orientation is landscape and not portrait. The iPad and Kindle have the Power/Sleep button on the edge of the device. Expecting the same, I checked its edges for the power button. To my surprise, it was not to be found. After checking all sides and mistaking the SIM card slot for the power button, I decided to resort to the documentation. This was the first time I had to check documentation given with the device to find the power button. Its a concave button, placed very close to the camera, which is hardly visible in low lighting conditions. However, it was only a first time thing, after which it made sense as to why the button is placed where it is. Its very convenient and easy to reach when holding the device in landscape mode, as your finger naturally rests very close to the button.

Now, since the wait is done and the devices are finally here, we can start working with them.

Project Sunflower: Devices for Research

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There are a large number of eReaders currently available in the market. We have chosen three devices, one with an E Ink display and the other two with LED displays, each running on a different operating system. Amazon Kindle DX, Apple iPad 2 and Motorola Xoom are three devices we will be using. The Kindle DX runs on Linux, iPad on iOS and the Motorola Xoom on Android 3.0.

 

Amazon Kindle being a dedicated eBook reader has capability to read eBooks by default, without requiring the installation of an eBook application. iPad and Xoom being tablet PCs primarily, require an additional application to be installed that allows the device to render eBooks. We will be considering the native applications that are developed specifically for the device.

Apple iPad

iBooks is the default application for reading eBooks on the iPad. It is free to download from the Apple App Store, and allows in-app purchases. The iBookstore has over 200,000 eBooks available for purchase, with some free ones. There are other eBook apps too, such as the Kindle app and many more.

Motorola Xoom

Google Books is the default application for reading eBooks on Android devices. However, due to publisher restrictions, Google Books is not available to users in UK (yet). The Kindle app for Android works just fine, though you need to have an Amazon account. The other eBook apps rated highly in the Android Market (Android’s App Store) are mostly paid.

Amazon Kindle DX

The Kindle is a dedicated eBook reader. Books are directly displayed on the homescreen, where you can start reading immediately. You can purchase books from the Kindle Store. Most of the books also have a free sample that Amazon wirelessly transfers to the device, allowing you to read the beginning of the book and then decide whether to buy it or not.

A Brief Introduction to eBooks and eReading

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eBooks have been around for almost 4 decades now. The earliest eBooks were those in Project Gutenberg, the oldest digital library, founded in 1971.  eBooks and eReaders have gained a lot of popularity in the last decade or so. A large of people are increasingly moving towards eBooks to satisfy their literary needs.

eBooks

For those who have heard of eBooks but don’t really know what they are, an eBook stands for electronic book. These eBooks can be read on computers or other electronic devices. For starters, if I were to ask how would you carry your favourite books, each around 1000 pages on an international flight which you may or may not want to read again, what would you do? Yes, you do have to carry your clothes and other essentials too. In such a case, chances are, you’ll leave the books at home. eBooks were created to solve this exact problem. eBooks are mainly for portability and providing convenient and fast access to books, with newer devices supporting news, magazines and internet surfing. eBooks come with various memory options ranging from limited internal memory allowing you to store around 200 books to ones with an expandable memory of up to 64GB allowing you to store as many as 50,000 eBooks. A huge number of eBooks are currently sold by publishers all over the world.

Some of the oldest written scripts (Cuneiform script) date back to the 30th century B.C. Our ancestors drew paintings and symbols on clay and stone for very many years. We then evolved from writing on clay to writing on papyrus (made from the pith of the Papyrus plant) and other materials, eventually coming to the invention of paper which was superseded by digital information. We have come a long way from reading pictures and writings off stone and clay that can last for ages, to reading books, magazines and novels on small hand-held devices that can be erased by the touch of a button, but if not can stay for just as long. These handheld devices are capable of automatically updating news and other necessary information within a few seconds of the information becoming available.

eBook Readers

There are a large number of eBook readers currently available in the market. These eBook readers differ from each other in a number of ways such as the underlying operating system, hardware capabilities, available screen real estate, display technology and others. These eBook readers are capable of rendering different types of eBook formats; ePub, PDF, mobi, txt and azw being some of the most widely used. Due to the large number of eBook readers available, deciding which one to go for is not an easy task. Especially when some of them cost around £500. Making an informed decision by reviewing each and every device can take hours on end, seldom giving fruitful results and making it a matter of personal preference. All the devices have rights and wrongs, pros and cons, winning features and well, some not-so-good features.

ePub Format

The ePub format has gained popularity among eBook makers as it is designed for re-flowable (content presentation adapts to the output device) and re-sizable content . A large number of readers are capable of rendering the ePub format in a variety of form factors. These include traditional PCs and laptops, tablet PCs, Android and iPad devices, eInk devices in several configurations ranging from ‘paperback-size’ to A4-equivalent, mobile telephones and MP3 players, and so forth.

CC Image by Rodrigo Galindez