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I think Baen's webscription format has the best implementation of a low friction model for ebook sales.
First, they price it right. Any given ebook can and usually does have up to four price points. The early bird gets it for $15.00, in e-ARC format before the paper edition is released. Once the paper edition is released the new book can be bought for about $6 as an individual purchase, regardless of whether it's a hardcover or paperback release. It also comes in that month's webscriptions bundle. That's $15.00 for a full month's releases. Yes there's overlap if you buy multiple months, but you're still paying less than the price of a single hardcover for at least two or three brand new books. Finally, a lot of books end up in the Free Library, at which point they become free. This stage can take a year or more, but even so, it's a great deal. Combining the idea that an ebook is worth less to a buyer than a paperback with time-sensitive pricing has worked for them. Baen makes more from ebooks than they do from Canada.
Second, they provide the books in multiple formats without DRM. This lets you read them on whatever device or in whatever form you want. It also means that if they did go out of business, you could still convert the format to something readable as device technology changed.
They're beginning to test the waters with other publishers. It will be interesting to see how things work going forwards. Right now, they and Fictionwise are the only places that get my e-fiction money.
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