I've read your website and watched your preview video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKvYH_Qdp1Q) and I still have very little idea what your iPad app does exactly. It seems that it displays pictures from Facebook?
I'm not trying to rub dirt in the wounds, but I don't think you're doing a good job of creating a value proposition for many people.
I agree with alanfalcon. After watching that video I'm not exactly sure what the app does. Sure there are a lot of marketing buzz words and flashy animations but that doesn't sell me on why I should bother installing it.
That fact that the app isn't free wouldn't be what would dissuade me from downloading it (although I won't lie it is a minor barrier). It is the time I'd have to spend on figuring out why I want to use this app.
I'm not saying it's easy I'm saying the opportunities for indie devs are huge, certainly more so than webapps which seem to be par for the course on HN. And I don't think you need any advertising. All 3 of my apps have reached top 5 in their categories without spending a dime on ads.
So its not as easy sailing as you make it sound. I think you still need a lot of advertising if you want to make some money.