E-Reader Research Project
iRex Technologies is one of three companies currently selling e-readers in the United States.
Download a comparison of e-readers (PDF).
RJI's objectives for the E-Reader Research Project are to gain a better understanding of:
- The factors that may influence adoption of e-readers; and
- The design elements of digital content that may influence reading on e-readers and other mobile reading devices.
We conducted several focus group sessions involving Missouri School of Journalism students in 2008. At least 12 focus group sessions are planned for 2009 involving university students and faculty from schools other than journalism as well as Columbia residents. The results of our research will be published on the RJI Web site and in academic and professional publications.
Ken Fleming, RJI director of research, and Roger Fidler, RJI program director for digital publishing, are the project leaders.
Mobile reading devices to be compared
iRex Technologies iLiad eReader: This is one the most advanced e-reader now on the market. It has an 8.1-inch (diagonal) black-and-white electronic paper display with 16 levels of gray.
iRex Technologies Digital Reader 1000: This is the first e-reader to have a magazine-size (10-inch diagonal) electronic paper display.
Notebook Computer: This can be any Macintosh or Windows notebook computer with a 12- to 15-inch (diagonal) full-color, active-matrix liquid crystal display.
Digital presentation formats to be compared
Digital Newsbook (PDF): This format is a version of the eMprint model optimized for reading and navigating on electronic displays. Articles are repackaged and designed on a 2-column grid by editors or designers. Digital Newsbooks have a page-based structure with no scrolling. Navigation is both sequential (page turning) and non-sequential (hyperlinking).
Automated Digital Edition for eReaders (PDF): This is the eReader format adopted by the French business newspaper Les Echos and several other newspapers for their iLiad eReader editions. Articles are automatically flowed into 1-column page templates. This format also has a page-based structure with no scrolling.
Screen Facsimile (PDF): This format provides an exact replica of a newspaper’s printed pages with the addition of hyperlinks. Articles are laid out by editors or designers on a 6-column grid for printed editions. Screen facsimile pages retain the original proportions of the printed pages, but can scale to the size of a computer display. Navigation is both sequential (page turning) and non-sequential (hyperlinking). In some versions, the text of articles and ads can be displayed in pop-up windows.
Web (HTML): This is the standard format used by newspapers for online presentation of their articles. Articles are automatically pulled from printed pages and flowed into standard 1-column web-page templates. They have a page-based structure with scrolling. All navigation is non-sequential (hyperlinking).