Will Amazon release a real tablet soon? That is, one with an ecosystem similar to Apple’s?
Andy Ihnatko makes a pretty good case for this.
However he goofs one point, his 6th and not most important:

6) Amazon has a retail channel that rivals Apple’s. There’s an Apple Store within a short drive of every home in America. Great. The Amazon Store is actually inside every home in America.
And Amazon is a lot less hidebound than Apple is on the “All customers must wear pants” shopping policy.

I only need to wear pants or a dress if I go to an Apple meatspace store. Apple also has a perfectly good store along with iTunes that I can access from anywhere one can access Amazon’s store.