Amazon exerting its own design independence could be a good thing--or not. Barnes & Noble took an independent design path with its . As a result, that e-reader/tablet looks nothing like Android, but is. Barnes & Noble did a great job tailoring the reading experience for use on its 7-inch tablet. But Nook Color isn't a full-bore tablet aimed at media and app consumption, as Amazon's tablet apparently will aspire to be: B&N has added some tablet functionality like Web browsing and e-mail, and it has its own app store, but the selection remains limited.

We don't yet know what Amazon's interface will look like, and what the requirements will be for apps to work on its tablet--beyond the fact that the apps will come from the Amazon Appstore. Reportedly, the tablet will have no Google Market on-board.

If, with this tablet, Amazon can finally make a product that's a standout star with its interface and usability, the tablet has legitimate potential to be a threat to Apple's iPad. But if the company doesn't nail the interface, it runs the risk of offering yet another ho-hum tablet in a crowded landscape, albeit a ho-hum tablet with, presumably, a better-integrated media consumption and e-book experience than most. One can hope.