Damn right eBooks are still too expensive but they are coming down all the time, if you look in the right place.
The publishing industry isn't quite in it's final death throws but it is clearly not going to exist much longer in it's current form or with it's current MO. It can only emerge from the metamorphosis it is currently undergoing as a seriously wittled down version of itself, catering to what will become a niche market, like incontinence pads for the geriatrics that will still be reading dead tree books into the next decade.
There is simply no place for them in the future of mainstream literature distribution. When an Author can sell an eBook for $3 and still make more per copy than than the world's best sellers can from dead tree books it really is a no-brainer. DRM-free ePUB/OEB eBooks are the future of electronic reading as are low, low prices. With lower prices comes a reduced inclination for people to commit piracy.
I'm not expecting my site (
www.zuluexpress.com) to sell more eBooks than Amazon any time soon but with people like me stirring the pot we'll at least do what we can to keep the bastards honest. You can go to my site, sign up for free, upload your book for free and become a published author in minutes with no-one to tell you "It still needs work" or "Sorry we're publishing that genre at the moment". Set your own price and collect all but $1 (which includes processing fee) of the sale price.
The site still nees plenty of work so check it out and tell me how to make it even better and help us do our bit to bring eBook prices down and do away with DRM forever.
If you review upload or buy a book this month you could be the lucky winner of the eReader of your choice up to a value of $500 US.