Ebooks Hold Tight to Print Features

Even as the universe of printed matter continues to shrivel, the book - or at least some of its best-known features - is showing remarkable staying power online. The idea is apparently embedded so deeply in the collective unconsciousness that no one can bear to leave it behind.

Amazon brags that on its latest e-reader, "the pages are virtually indistinguishable from a physical book." It recently introduced the Page Flip feature, which mimics the act of skimming.