Today’s best deals: Amazon Fire tablets, Jabra wireless earbuds, and more

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

Welcome back to another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the best deals from around the web includes a sale on Amazon's Fire tablet lineup. While the Fire HD 10 is still a bit higher priced than we've seen in past deals, the 8-inch Fire HD 8 is down to $45, which matches the lowest price we've tracked.

As we've said before, a Fire tablet is mainly ideal for those who just want a tablet for basic reading, video viewing, and web browsing for as low a price as possible. They are decidedly slower and less premium than recent iPads, they're saddled with lockscreen ads by default, and they don't play nice with nearly as many apps, since they have no official access to the Google Play Store or Google apps.

But the Fire HD 8 runs Amazon's Fire OS well enough, the 1200*800 display isn't a total mess, the device is comfortable to hold, and it can last a few days on a charge. We wouldn't be surprised if Amazon updated this model later this year, but for now, it's still competent and, most importantly, very affordable. It's also worth noting that the Fire HD 8 Plus, which adds a gigabyte of RAM (from 2GB to 3GB) and wireless charging with a compatible dock, is also back down to its all-time low price of $55. Given that Fire OS isn't heavily dependent on multitasking, we think the base Fire HD 8 is a better buy for most people, but if you like the idea of using the wireless charging dock (and turning the tablet into an Alexa smart display in the process), it's an option.

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