Most guitar players are not going to use a stand with no offset. You need room between the vertical part of the stand and you and the guitar. You have to use a boom mic stand or a gooseneck extension or something that accomplishes that. If I were to use a mic stand with no offset, I would be leaning in to sing and would not last many songs without back strain.

As for your question, I have a similar concern and that is to reduce the amount of real estate of my body and guitar that an Ipad would block from the audience. Not good, visually. I envision that you could use an even smaller device than the Ipad if it were clamped closer to you. Think about a trumpet player in a marching band with the music stand about a foot away from his eyes. A happy medium might be possible. With a smaller device. Or maybe an Ipad will work. It would be angled down a bit, so, that lessens the amount of space it blocks from the audience's perspective, effectively, reducing the width of the Ipad.