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I think the key is how open the epub is on the iPad and if the iPad will retain Kindle functionality available in the iPhone. If you can read Amazon books on the iPad as you can on the iPhone, then we retain that level of competition which helps drive down prices. When we have certain formats exclusively locked into certain devices, it restricts market forces.
If there is one thing capitalists are well aware of, it's that consumers look for the best value. Publishers have had all kinds of archaic licensing agreements which have protected them from the brutal market forces over the years so perhaps they are less aware. Amazon and Apple are very well aware of it, hence their ability to shed DRM when they know consumers want it and also to drive prices lower because they know consumers want that.
As long as we have some kind of interoperability between devices, market forces retain the ability to drive down prices as consumers choose between suppliers.
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