Reading on-the-go: a comparison of audio and hand-held displays

  • Authors:
  • Kristin Vadas;Nirmal Patel;Kent Lyons;Thad Starner;Julie Jacko

  • Affiliations:
  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 8th conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services
  • Year:
  • 2006

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Abstract

In this paper we present a 20-participant controlled experiment to evaluate and compare a head-down visual display and a synthesized speech audio display for comprehending text while mobile. Participants completed reading comprehension trials while walking a path and sitting. We examine overall performance and perceived workload for four conditions: audio-walking, audio-sitting, visual-walking, and visual-sitting. Results suggest audio is an acceptable modality for mobile comprehension of text. Participants' comprehension scores for the audio-walking condition were comparable to the scores for the visual-walking condition. More importantly, participants saw improvements in their ability to navigate the environment when using the audio display.