When the iPad first launched, then Apple CEO Steve Jobs remarked in an interview that the company would never built a 7-inch version of its tablet. Customers, he said, wouldn’t want them.

Since then two things have happen. First, sadly, Steve Jobs has passed away. And, second, a slew of 7-inch tablets have rocketed in popularity, cutting significantly into Apple’s market share. Three tablets in particular saw their sales climb: the Google Nexus 7, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the Barnes & Noble Nook HD.

The combination of both of those events lead Apple to launch their own 7-inch tablet: The Apple iPad mini. So how does it compare to those competitors mention above? Our review:

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That didn’t take long. No sooner did Google announce the Nexus 7, a sub-$200 tablet aimed at directly competing with the Kindle Fire, that Amazon made an announcement of its own. In a move that one-ups Google — and perhaps Apple, Sony & Samsung too — Amazon is launching the next generation of Kindle Fire eBook reader-tablet, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

The Kindle Fire HD will be available in three models. Collectively, they go a long way towards addressing the complaints that several reviewers (including Spot Cool Stuff) have made about what is now the “old” Kindle Fire.

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Harry Potter is finally bringing his magic to the world of eBook readers.

The publishing empire that is JK Rowling has reached a distribution deal that will allow you to carry all 4,176 pages of the Harry Potter series around in your coat pocket—provided that your coat pocket is holding an Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook or one of the handful of other compatible device like the Sony Reader.

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Online super seller Amazon announced today a completely revised line-up of their Kindle family of eBook readers and tablet computers. The announcement included good news for nearly everyone (except perhaps Apple—we’ll get to that in a bit).

For the thrifty, there’s the new entry-level Kindle that can be had for a mere US$79. For the tech savvy and lovers of iPads, the colorful Kindle Fire holds out the promise of being a full fledged tablet computer. For fans of the current Kindles, you get a more powerful model called the Kindle Touch that will be available with 3G or without 3G.

Our overview of each:

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Amazon offers two “current” versions of its popular e-book reader: the Kindle 2 and, as of July 2010, the Kindle Graphite DX.

Both Kindles are among Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite gadgets, especially for traveling. But why? And what’s the difference between the two Kindle models? And which one is better?

For the answers, Dear Reader, continue on . . .

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Amazon offers two “current” versions of its popular e-book reader: the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX.

Both Kindles are among Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite gadgets, especially for traveling. But why? And what’s the difference between the two Kindle models? And which one is better?

For the answers, Dear Reader, continue on . . .

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Regular readers of the Spot Cool Stuff Tech blog know what huge fans we are of the Kindle. They also know that our Kindle enthusiasm comes despite harboring a few gripes about Amazon’s e-book reader.

Well, today that list of gripes grew shorter by one: The Amazon Kindle is now available in an international version.

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Spot Cool Stuff has been a long-time fan of the Kindle Reading Device. The recently-released Kindle 2 is as thin as a magazine, as light as a paperback and has enough storage capacity for 1,500 books! More than 240,000 books are available for download at Amazon’s Kindle Store as are scores of newspapers and magazines. And Kindle books generally cost 30~50% less than their dead-tree counterparts.

But you don’t necessarily need a Kindle Device to enjoy some of the Kindle experience. If you have an iTouch or iPhone there’s an app that will allow you to read Kindle books.

Here’s a rundown of the benefits and limits of the Kindle iTouch app:

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