Wal-Mart announced Sept. 20 it would no longer sell Amazon's Kindle and Kindle Fire in its stores, joining Target in dropping the devices. Today, it looks like Amazon is ready to fire back. Could the online retailer seriously be considering building physical stores to combat retail giants like Wal-Mart and Target? According to a new report today from Reuters, that could be the case.

It's no surprise there's speculation that Amazon will open physical stores to put products like Kindle, and Kindle Fire HD in front of more consumers. Keep in mind how quick the company gets its up pop-up stores set up. Amazon could conceivably still have time to establish locations before the holiday shopping season. Now that the largest retailer has wiped its flagship product off its store shelves, that's got to be a high priority for the company.

Granted, Amazon sells the vast majority of its Kindle devices on Amazon.com already. But, even if it's the age of Internet, any company chaining itself to a sole method of retail still sounds like self-sabotage. In Amazon's case, if you're relying only on online sales, you're missing out on key niche markets, like casually interested consumers doing holiday shopping research at the mall. This is an important part of the market because these are the users that will have a chance to readily compare the Kindle Fire HD to similarly priced tablet devices through hands-on interaction. If your product is only online, it will remain an esoteric thingamajig this crowd.

So, if Amazon remains as solely an online retailer the company will be giving away easy points to companies like Nokia, Google, and Apple. Wal-Mart continues to sell iPads, Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook, Google Inc's Nexus 7, Samsung's Galaxy Tab and other tablets and eReaders.

While you could certainly argue it was Kindle's razor-thin margins that contributed Wal-Mart and Target's decisions, the real answer is simpler than you think. Clearly, Amazon's tablets are an easy gateway to ordering from Amazon.com, which, of course, means fewer sales for Target and Wal-Mart.

Other physical retailers are still carrying the Kindle line, including Best Buy, Office Depot, Radio Shack, and Staples.

But, still, losing Target and Wal-Mart means that at the end of the day Amazon has far fewer locations to let consumers see Kindles and Kindles Fires in person before purchasing. Considering the breakout success of Apple's retail stores, Microsoft's decision to open more than thirty pop-up stores to sell its new Surface tablets, and the upcoming Nov. 20 release of Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD, could Amazon decide to emulate its competitors?

It's certainly an uphill battle if Amazon decides to go after Wal-Mart and Target by opening physical stores, but would it be worth it in the end?

Amazon's e-readers are the best-selling electronic readers, with the first version of the Kindle Fire tablet grabbing about a fifth of the U.S. tablet market. Amazon launched a range of new tablets earlier this month, some aimed at the top end of the market to compete with Apple's more expensive iPad.

Tablet owners are most satisfied with Apple's iPad, followed closely by Amazon's products, according to a J.D. Power and Associates tablet satisfaction study released last week.

Much of the hype surrounding Amazon's second generation Kindle Fire Tablet, Kindle Fire HD, has centered on why the device's reading apps set it apart.

"Immersion Reading" allows Kindle books can be synchronized with Audible audiobooks allowing you to read and listen at the same time.

"X-Ray for Books," and textbooks lets you tap a page in a book to find out more information on characters, places in a book or related YouTube content.

"Time to Read" uses your reading speed to tell you when you will finish a chapter in a book on the Paperwhite.

"Kindle FreeTime" lets parents create profiles for their children and choose what books, games, apps or videos they can access.

Kindle Fire HD specs:

Cheap and portable, convenient access to Amazon store, large high-definition screen, Dolby audio, available with access to fast 4G wireless broadband networks, all for $499.

- Price: $299 for 16 gigabytes of storage

- Screen size: 8.9 inches diagonally

- Screen resolution: 1920 by 1200 pixels

- Weight: 1.25 pounds.

- Cameras: Front-facing camera.

- Battery life: Undisclosed.

- Operating system: Modified version of Google's Android

Will superior reading apps be enough for Amazon to maintain a presence along with the big boys? Do you think Amazon will go through with building physical storefronts or pop-up stores to sell its Kindle line of products?