Do publishers and authors not looks at statistics? I'm sorry but ebooks aren't even close to the same value as print books. I have an idea of the production costs involved. Not to mention that with ebooks you're saving trees and reaching larger audiences. If the mobile app market shows us anything it's that micro-transactions are the way to go. Either sell your books for <4.99 or sell your books by the chapter (eg: 99c per chapter, if your book is actually engaging).
That or an unlimited book (library) subscription fee. Like job says piracy is going to occur if you don't make content accessible, and in the country I reside in (Canada), it's largely inaccessible.