Old people read iPads three times faster than printed books

London, Oct 23 (ANI): It is the elderly people who seem to have benefited most from the burgeoning popularity of iPads, as a study has revealed that they can read three times faster on iPads as compared to traditional books.

German researchers have revealed that though people from different age groups could read just as well from iPads and Kindles as they do from traditional books, but it is the older people who can read even faster using the iPads.

The underlying reason behind such an interpretation is the iPad's screen, which helps them process the information on the page, even though the tablet's LED screen has been criticised for hurting readers' eyes if used over a long period of time.

The team from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany also disputed claims that traditional books were easiest on the eyes.

"This study provides us with a scientific basis for dispelling the widespread misconception that reading from a screen has negative effects," the Daily Mail quoted Professor Dr Stephan Fussel's team who conducted the study with e-book company MVB Marketing as saying.

Volunteers who participated in the study were asked to read different texts of varying difficulty levels on a Kindle, iPad and traditional paper book.

The reading behaviour was measured by tracking their eye movements, and monitoring levels of electro-physical brain activity.

"Almost all of the participants stated that they liked reading a printed book best," Professor Dr. Matthias Schlesewsky, who was also on the research team, said. This was the dominant subjective response, but it does not match the data obtained from the study."

"In fact, tablet PCs actually provide an advantage over e-ink readers and the printed page that is not consciously perceivable - the information is processed more easily when a tablet PC is employed. "

Based on this analysis, Dr Schlesewsky pointed out that the inclination towards reading a printed book does not determine the pace of reading.

"We have thus demonstrated that the subjective preference for the printed book is not an indicator of how fast and how well the information is processed," he added. (ANI)