It did have zoom, but they were fixed levels so no different to having multiple paper maps at different scales. Yes, of course there is the advantage that it's "not paper", but that was the only advantage really. This is not unexpected at all as new technology very often mimics existing technology in its first iteration. If you look at the first outputs of the Gutenberg press you can see they were trying to mimic handwritten books of the time. But usually the new technology very quickly surpasses the old after the first iteration, as electronic maps have now done.