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James Martin/CNET
When it comes to tablet bang for the buck, it’s hard to beat an Amazon Kindle Fire HD.
With today’s deal, the needle shoots up to “impossible to beat.”
Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET
For a limited time, you can get a refurbished Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (16GB) for $149 shipped. Or, if you want more storage, get the 32GB model for $179 shipped. Those prices are $50 below what you’d usually pay, thanks to an Amazon voucher.
Here’s how to get the deal, followed by some thoughts on why it’s awesome-sauce:
- Head to Amazon Local and claim your voucher for $50 off a Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Note that there are a limited quantity of these available, and I’m not sure what that quantity is. (Hopefully it’s in the zillions.) Click Apply Code, then proceed through the checkout page.
- Now shop for one of those refurbished Kindles. As you’ll see, you have just two options: 16GB and 32GB. Add either one to your cart.
- Finally, click through to checkout. There’s no coupon code required; assuming you claimed the voucher properly, Amazon will automatically apply it to your cart. Easy-peasy.
Now for the “caveats.” First, these are the “with Special Offers” versions of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, meaning you’ll see ads on the lock screen. My thoughts: Bring ’em on! Sometimes those offers are quite good (and occasionally exclusive), especially when they’re things like free Amazon MP3 or video credit.
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- Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 review: The best Kindle Fire yet
- Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 review: A must-have tablet for Amazon Prime members
Second, these are refurbished Kindles, which I consider a non-issue. Amazon is like Apple when it comes to refurb gear, meaning you get indistinguishable-from-new hardware and the same one-year warranty.
As for the Fire HD 8.9 itself, in the category of midsize tablets, it’s second only to its successor, the HDX . The 8.9-inch display runs at an impressive 1,920×1,200 pixels, and it offers the myriad benefits afforded by Amazon’s ecosystem — especially if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. My favorite feature by far: many TV shows and movies can be downloaded for offline viewing. (Here’s CNET’s review if you want to learn more, though note that it refers to the 4G LTE version, which this is not.)
And let’s not forget the basic economics: you’re getting an 8.9-inch tablet for as little as $149. A 7.9-inch iPad Mini will run you $399. A Dell Venue 8 Pro: $300. If you ask me, this is way too good to pass up.
Bonus deal: A big ol’ flash drive can really save the day if your Chromebook or ultrabook is running out of space on its smallish SSD. For a limited time, TigerDirect has the Adata DashDrive 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive for $19.99, plus around $4 for shipping. That’s after redeeming a $10 mail-in rebate (PDF). The drive has a lifetime warranty and an average 4.8-star rating from 30-plus users.
