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.
I don’t consider a 12-hour round trip, at a minimum, a “short drive”, but that is the travel time to the closest Apple Store in Northern Alabama from the Florida Panhandle.
People don’t understand how small the number of Apple retail stores actually is.
Bryan,
Agreed. I don’t have to drive 12 hours but it is a 2 hour drive to a real Apple store. There is a local independent but they are a half hour away from where I live.
I’m a big fan of pajama shopping!