Hmm...my copy of A Suitable Boy didn't seem overly white, but then I read it with crappy lighting and when my eyes were almost twenty years younger.
I haven't gotten a hankering to re-read it either. I really enjoyed it, but I only need to think about how much other stuff I could experience instead.
Estimated date of an e-book? I'd say never. Given the length and the issues publishers have getting reasonbly error free versions, this isn't a book I'd touch on an e-reader, despite as you said being a length that makes it incredibly suitable for an e-book.