Catalyst Group conducted a qualitative study to see whether people who\'d never used digital books preferred the more popular Kindle or Sony\'s eReader. The results are intriguing.

1. vs.
Amazon Kindle 2/Sony PRS-700
eReader Preference
June 2009
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CATALYSTGROUP p. +212.243.7777 f. +212.243.7077 e. info@catalystnyc.com w. www.catalystnyc.com

2. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Objectives
Feedback Value
Gather users’ general impressions of the Gauge users’ reaction to the overall value of the Kindle
Amazon Kindle 2 and Sony PRS-700 eReader devices, and Sony eReader devices.
including the overall organization and presentation of
content. Comparison
Note: Throughout this report, the Amazon Kindle 2 and Gather users’ overall preference between the Kindle
Sony PRS-700 eReaders will be referred to as ‘Kindle’ and and Sony eReader devices.
‘Sony’ respectively.
Interaction Design
Determine how the presentation and layout of the Kindle
and Sony eReader devices fit with users’ expectations
and needs.
Visual Design
Gauge users’ reaction to the styling and look of the
Kindle and Sony eReader devices.
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3. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Methodology
12 moderated one-on-one qualitative interviews Participants performed a list of realistic tasks
(60 minutes) were conducted on June 8, 19, and 22, (e.g., highlighting text, etc.) after which they were asked
2009 at the Catalyst Group office in New York, NY. to comment on their experience using the device
(i.e., citing their likes/dislikes, ease/difficulty, suggested
Participants were all college-educated professionals improvements, value, etc.)
(6 males, 6 females) with no previous experience using
either the Kindle or Sony. Before the end of each session, participants were asked
to select the device they liked best and why.
Participants were not initially told that the Kindle and
Sony were the focus of the discussion. The logo of Participants were also asked whether they would likely
each device was concealed with tape. purchase or use either device.
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4. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Statement of Limitations
The intention of these discussions was to provide
insights and design direction; not quantitative
assessment.
The observations in this report reflect the views of 12
participants. While accurate for this population, their
views may not be representative of the overall
population.
This report summarizes comments thought to be the
most useful for providing insights and design feedback
for the reviewed devices.
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5. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Overall Preferences
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6. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Overall Preferences | Survey Results & Reasons
8 Tie 1 3
Overall reasons for preferring Overall reasons for preferring
• Clearer navigation • Touch screen interface
• Better shopping experience • Ability to change font size
• More aesthetically pleasing • Perceived “durability” and “sturdiness”
• Better tactile “feel” • Backlight feature
Detailed Preferences <<< << < Tie > >> >>>
Physical Controls
(i.e., location, appropriateness, •• •• •• • • • • ••
intuitiveness)
“Feel” (Product Handling)
(i.e., weight, grip, surface texture)
• • • •• ••• ••• •
User Interface
(i.e., navigation, layout, labeling)
•• •• •• • • •• ••
Screen Resolution •••• •• •• ••• •
Shopping Experience •••• • • • •
(i.e., buying books to store on device) ••••
Key: • = 1 user’s preference
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7. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Key Insights
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8. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Key Insights
1. 2. 3.
Overall, most users (8 out of 12) However, the Sony also had Despite this, all users thought
preferred the Kindle to the Sony some positive features both devices had shortcomings
and that the best eReader had
Clearer navigation – Users found the Kindle The touch screen interface not been created yet
easier to navigate despite mentioning that
they would rather have a touch screen The backlight feature
interface :
The ability to change the font size on any page
Better shopping experience – Users found The lack of a touch screen interface
the Kindle’s shopping experience easier since The perceived “durability” and “sturdiness” of
it allowed them to download items directly the device The lack of a color interface
onto the device without the need of a
computer The reliance on icons to describe menu The slow operating time (e.g., loading pages,
options rather than text joystick movements)
More aesthetically pleasing – Users found
the Kindle more “sophisticated” and :
“elegant” looking
Non-wireless shopping
Better tactile “feel” – Users commented that
handling the Kindle felt more “natural” and Difficulty navigating
“pleasing”
The lack of a dictionary
The lack of a color interface
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9. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Key Insights (cont.)
4. 5.
Although most users preferred The couple of users who said
the Kindle to the Sony, they they would consider buying a
gave several reasons why they Kindle lost interest once retail
would not likely buy this device pricing was discussed
Some did not regard themselves as “big All users were asked to estimate the price of
readers” and therefore would not find much each device. The Kindle averaged $210 and
value in it the Sony averaged $185. The actual price of
either device is about 75% higher at $350
Several preferred the tactile “feeling” of real
books (e.g., turning pages, etc.)
A few found electronic devices too “fragile”
A few did not want more technology in their
daily lives
Price assumptions did not suggest value
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10. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Detailed Insights
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11. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Physical Design | Overall Preference
Winner:
Almost all users preferred the
physical design of the Kindle to
the Sony
Most users found the “thin,” “minimalistic,”
“sleek,” and “rounded” look of the Kindle
aesthetically pleasing in contrast to the Sony
which they found “boxy,” “clunky,” and
“very old school 80’s.”
“I thought it [the Sony] would be sleeker like
the Vaio.”
Unlike the Sony, users found that the Kindle’s
hardware features (e.g., keyboard) made the
device more “accessible.”
“[The keyboard on the Kindle] makes it easier
to see what’s going on.”
Unlike the Sony, users found that the glare-free
screen and “less fuzzy” resolution on the Kindle
made it easier to read.
“[The Kindle] doesn’t bring any eye strain.”
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12. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Physical Design | Drawbacks
Although users generally preferred the physical design of
the Kindle to the Sony, they thought it had a few drawbacks
Positioning of controls Size of buttons A
A couple of users thought the size of the
Having buttons on both sides of the device
buttons should be more proportionally equal.
concerned users that they might accidently
press one while holding it. “Why’s the ‘Next Page’ button larger than
the ‘Prev Page’ button?” B
A They did not understand why one of the
‘Next Page’ buttons was located on the left-
side of the device. Rather than having two
Purpose of joystick
‘Next Page’ buttons, they thought the left- B A few users were not clear what the
hand one should have been a ‘Previous Page’
purpose of the joystick was before using the
button instead.
device. Users thought they could navigate
“[The two ‘Next Page’ buttons] serve the pages by using the arrow button on the
same function.” Keyboard instead. Once understanding the Kindle
joystick’s function, they mentioned that they
B The joystick positioned on the right-side of would prefer a track ball.
the device made it “unfriendly” to left-hand
“The square didn’t look like it [a joystick].”
users.
“I want it to be just like my Blackberry.”
“This [joystick] would be really irritating if
you were left-handed.” “It’s not intuitive.”
“It’s [the joystick] out of nowhere on
the right.”
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13. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Physical Design | Drawbacks (cont.)
Although users generally preferred the physical design of
the Kindle to the Sony, they thought it had a few drawbacks
Lack of an ‘Enter’ button Perceived fragility A
A couple of users expected an ‘Enter’ button A couple of users thought that the Kindle did
on the keyboard to perform functions that not seem as “durable” as the Sony. They
currently can only be done by pressing the mentioned that the metal finish on the Sony
joystick. made it look “sturdier.” They also thought the
Sony was less likely to “slip out” of their
‘Back’ button implementation hands.
Kindle
unintuitive
Lack of a backlight
A Users did not like that the ‘Back’ button
returned them to the beginning of a section Users liked that the Sony offered a backlight
rather than a page. As a result, they lost data and thought this was missing on the Kindle.
they had entered.
“That’s disappointing [that the Kindle does
not have a backlight].”
Sony 13

14. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Physical Design | Other Points of Interest
A couple of users commented that the Kindle felt
more like an APPLE product based on its
“simplicity” and “white color.” The Sony, in
contrast, felt more like a PC product since
operating the device seemed more “technical.”
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15. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Interface Design | Overall Preference
Winner:
Although users responded
positively to the touch screen
interface on the Sony and
wanted this included on the
Kindle, most nevertheless
preferred Kindle’s non-touch
interface
The Kindle was considered “easier to use.” This
was mostly due to the explanatory text provided
at the bottom of the screen, which helped guide
users to perform tasks such as highlighting text.
“I like that it’s telling me what to do.”
The Sony offered no such complementary feature
and as a result, users had a harder time
accomplishing tasks.
“It’s two/three steps to get to where you want.”
Users also responded very favorably to the
dictionary on the Kindle, a feature which they
thought was missing on the Sony. They wanted,
however, to also be able to turn this feature off.
“That’s a cool, nifty feature.”
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16. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Interface Design | Drawbacks
A
Although more users preferred Kindle’s interface to the
Sony, they thought it had several drawbacks
Slow operating time Issues with on/off states
Compared to the Sony, the Kindle operated Unlike the Sony, the on/off states of the Kindle
too slowly. Loading pages and moving the confused a couple of users. The picture
cursor with the joystick were thought to be displayed in the Kindle’s off-state led a couple
too time-consuming. of users to believe the device was actually
turned on.
“It's a little slower than I thought it
would be.” “Am I that dumb? [Not knowing whether Kindle – ‘Menu’ Screen
the Kindle was on or off].”
“It takes forever [to get somewhere with
the joystick].” “That’s a little stressful.”
Not enough icons A couple of users also thought that the picture A
displayed on the Kindle during the off-state
A Unlike the Sony, menu functions on the did not look part of the screen itself.
Kindle were too “text-heavy.” Users found the
“It had a fake look to it.”
icons used on the Sony more appealing but
thought that further work was needed as they “It’s like a sticker was in front of
were not intuitive. the screen.”
Sony – ‘Menu’ Screen 16

17. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Interface Design | Drawbacks (cont.)
Although more users preferred Kindle’s interface to the
Sony, they thought it had several drawbacks
Unclear progress bar
A Unlike the Sony, several users had trouble
interpreting the progress bar on the Kindle
and thus found it more difficult identifying the
page they were on.
A
“I’m not really sure what that [‘Locations’]
means.”
A
“[The progress bar on the Sony is] much
easier to understand.”
Inability to alter font size
Users liked that they could increase/decrease
the font size on the Sony and felt this feature
was a major omission on the Kindle. Kindle – ‘Text’ Screen Sony – ‘Text’ Screen
“[The inability to change the font size on
the Kindle] destroys the product!”
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18. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Interface Design | Drawbacks (cont.)
Users also thought that both the Kindle and Sony
interfaces had some of the same drawbacks
Lack of color
The lack of a color interface made the devices
look “behind the times.”
“I feel like I’m using a Palm Pilot with
that thing.”
“It’s not that advanced looking.”
“It’s like a museum piece.”
The black and white interfaces made it more
difficult to determine what was clickable on a
page.
The black transition screens shown while
flipping between sections/pages were
Kindle – ‘Home’ Screen Sony – ‘Home’ Screen
considered “ugly.”
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19. AMAZON KINDLE VS. SONY PRS-700 – EREADER PREFERENCE
Shopping Experience | Overall Preference
Winner:
Users preferred shopping on the
Kindle to the Sony
They liked that the Kindle allowed them to
download items directly onto the device without
the need of a computer. The flexibility that this
direct downloading process offered them was
considered important. Sony – ‘Shopping’ Screen
“This is great if you're on the road.”
“It's easier and faster [than shopping on
the Sony].”
“It’s instant gratification.”
Kindle – ‘Shopping’ Screen
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