On Turning The Page
ministryoftype.co.uk
ministryoftype.co.uk
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.
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.