Books in the age of the iPad

So much is written about digital publishing these days that we've almost stopped following the subject. Wouldn't it be better if we could just fast forward a couple of years and see what happened? I'd hate to have bought the wrong e-reader! Anyhow, this article discusses the classic concept of "the medium is the message," applied to books and, specifically, iPads. If it's all text, it doesn't matter much, but if it's gorgeous layouts and illustrations, then aren't we talking gorgeous hardcover book? And if it's video or music, then maybe it's iPad? As I say, if we could only fast-forward a few years...