What I am hoping for in the iPad is that authors will bypass the publishing business completely. I would like to download a Scott Sigler (
of audiobook fame) iPad App where he can release all his book there and charge whatever he wants. I chose him because he already has a large following that was built completely on the internet without a publisher. I don't know if this could work for all authors but I could see it working for him and for actual big time authors (King, Steele, Grisham etc.). Although, whether or not the App store would allow this is another story.
EDIT: As I take a closer look at his website he already has a free app for his audiobooks. But it doesn't appear to have a reader function...