On Turning The Page

http://ministryoftype.co.uk/words/article/on_turning_the_page/

by endtwist • 16 years ago

11 3 16 years ago

ministryoftype.co.uk

blehn• 16 years ago

I agree that the animations and the aged-paper look are kind of pointless, however I find the page-turn interaction on my Kindle to be far more pleasant to use than scrolling on my iPhone, or even with a mouse for that matter.

On the Kindle, you read a page, and click the Next button without having to move your hand. It then fills the page with new text starting exactly at the point where the last page ended. With scrolling, it's a constant, uncomfortable interaction, and one that makes it much easier to lose your place, since your eye as to keep track of where you are while you scroll.

edit: another note on the page-turn animations--I think there needs to be a visual indication that you're moving to the next page. The way the Kindle flickers on page refresh is good enough. It doesn't need to take a long time or look like a physical page turning, but two screens full of text can look remarkably similar, so there should be some sort of visual transition.

alanthonyc• 16 years ago

I tend to agree with the OP.

I don't have a Kindle, but I do have an iPad with the Kindle app loaded onto it. In comparing the reading experience between the Kindle and Safari, I like the scrolling action of the web browser better.

When I read on the browser, I generally keep my eyes focused on the same point of the page. Instead of scanning across and down, I scan across and then flick the page up so that the next lines come level to my field of focus.

On the Kindle, I scan across and down, turn the page, then reset back to the top, almost like a typewriter.

(However, I have to admit that I'm not sure if I read web pages on my laptop the same way as I do on iPad or on my Kindle app.)

On "pageless" devices such as what we have now, it makes sense to get rid of the old standards that were actually limitations enforced by the old medium.

neonfunk• 16 years ago

It's funny: I thought I liked scrolling better, too. But as soon as Instapaper added the option of pagination, I switched and never looked back. Anyway, it's best just to have both.

On Turning The Page

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