It doesn't have to be that way. If I was an ereader developer, there are a lot of things easily done to make it more physical book-like:
1. use scanned images, rather than reflowable text
2. render fonts that have subtle differences from one 'a' to the next 'a'
3. don't line the text up perfectly on the line
4. add an ink blotch here and there, and maybe a coffee ring
5. scan a blank page of real paper and use that as a background
6. scan a couple dozen of (5) and randomly use them
7. make the reader the size and shape of a pocketbook. I'm amazed that nobody does this. After all, they are "pocket" books, and ereaders don't fit in a pocket.
8. use a high res screen. While you don't really notice it consciously, a retina image of text is much easier on the eyes
9. make the ereader easily held and manipulated with one hand. Amazon's used to be like this, but then their "improved" models turned left and went over the embankment. The Kindle3 is the pinnacle of their ereaders
10. make an ereader display two facing pages at once. You know, like a book
11. make a larger ereader for the usual size of larger, non-pocketbook books. Even put a hinge between the two pages, so it opens and reads like a book
12. add the scent of paper to it. P.S. Some printed books smell like vomit. Don't emulate that.
13. have a "stack" of previous pages visited. So I can flip to another page, and reliably flip back to where I was
14. have a way to flip through the book, i.e. show pages sequentially, lingering on each for a second or so. Maybe have the flip speed sensitive to how hard you press the button
It doesn't have to be that way. If I was an ereader developer, there are a lot of things easily done to make it more physical book-like:
1. use scanned images, rather than reflowable text
2. render fonts that have subtle differences from one 'a' to the next 'a'
3. don't line the text up perfectly on the line
4. add an ink blotch here and there, and maybe a coffee ring
5. scan a blank page of real paper and use that as a background
6. scan a couple dozen of (5) and randomly use them
7. make the reader the size and shape of a pocketbook. I'm amazed that nobody does this. After all, they are "pocket" books, and ereaders don't fit in a pocket.
8. use a high res screen. While you don't really notice it consciously, a retina image of text is much easier on the eyes
9. make the ereader easily held and manipulated with one hand. Amazon's used to be like this, but then their "improved" models turned left and went over the embankment. The Kindle3 is the pinnacle of their ereaders
10. make an ereader display two facing pages at once. You know, like a book
11. make a larger ereader for the usual size of larger, non-pocketbook books. Even put a hinge between the two pages, so it opens and reads like a book
12. add the scent of paper to it. P.S. Some printed books smell like vomit. Don't emulate that.
13. have a "stack" of previous pages visited. So I can flip to another page, and reliably flip back to where I was
14. have a way to flip through the book, i.e. show pages sequentially, lingering on each for a second or so. Maybe have the flip speed sensitive to how hard you press the button