Kindle Fire Deals: Amazon Slashes Tablet Price For Cyber Monday 2012

The second generation of the Kindle Fire, Amazon’s first foray into the tablet market, can be yours for as little as $129 (with special offers) or $144 (with special offers) for a Cyber Monday 2012 deal that only runs through today.

In order to get the deal, just enter FIREDEAL at checkout from Amazon to get the Kindle Fire at a $30 discount.

Unfortunately for fans of Amazon tablets, the Cyber Monday deal is only valid for the Kindle Fire.

The tablet’s predecessor, the Kindle Fire HD, is still priced at $199, while the larger and sharper Kindle Fire HD 8.9” remains $299. The Fire HD 8.9” with 4G LTE wireless is not being discounted from its $499 price tag.

If you’re sure you want a Kindle Fire but unsure whether to get the tablet with or without special offers, your decision comes down to how tolerable you are of advertising.

The Kindle Fire with special offers displays deals on various products while the device is shut off. The ads are not intrusive, and Amazon gives you a $15 discount for having to view advertisements on the tablet.

But if you find ads bothersome and don’t mind spending an extra $15 for the right not to be subject to the ads, then go for the Kindle Fire without special offers.

While the tablet is more than a year old, it enjoys rave reviews, with the average Amazon customer giving the Kindle Fire 3.6 out of 5 stars.

“Love the Kindle Fire as an easy way to play games, Facebook, do stuff online and general computing without having to get to the 'computer room,' raved reviewer Timothy Johnson, who gave the Fire five stars. “Now if the batteries only lasted longer!”

On the other end of the spectrum, reviewer Margaret Kohut said the device was “extremely disappointing.”

“I am on my ninth Kindle Fire, and I've had enough with replacements of replacements of replacements. ... You get the idea,” she wrote. “When the Fire works properly, it absolutely ROCKS. No other machine comes close IMO. The problem has always been defective the battery charging port; it becomes loose (even when handled with kid gloves) after a short time of use and won't charge properly. With Fire replacement #9, the battery itself died after only days of use and will not charge. I'm done. No more replacements of this junk. CAVEAT BEWARE!”

The Kindle Fire sports a 7” multitouch color display, 1024x1600 resolution and up to 9 hours of battery life. The tablet comes with 8GB of internal storage, about 5.5GB of which is available for user content. The device is Wi-Fi only, meaning you’ll need to be near a wireless hot spot or any other wireless network to take advantage of the Internet-related Fire features.

If you download any content from Amazon, including Amazon Instant Video or Kindle books, that content can be consumed without an Internet connection. But in the case of videos or movies, you must have a wireless connection to first download and save the content to your device.