Free Shipping or Refurbs from $190 for Father's Day

As has become something of a tradition with Amazon, they are offering free two-day shipping on the Kindle ($259.00) and the Kindle DX ($489.00), which means you can order today and have it by Friday at no extra charge. In addition, as happened last Christmas, they also have refurbished Kindles in stock, which means you can now get a like-new Kindle for under $190 and the DX for under $370. For the first time that I've seen, in fact, you can get refurbished units of both the US Kindle and Kindle DX and the latest generation global/international Kindle and Kindle DX, so you can choose based on both price and wireless reception in your area: Sprint is often better in many areas, but in some places AT&T wins out. Until recently, Sprint was the best choice here, but our phones and Kindles seem to be having problems getting a connection lately (so, if wireless is on, they discharge in a day here, but not in areas where the phones show steady Sprint tower connections). If I was ordering today, I might consider one of the global wireless versions, just to see how AT&T fares here (who knows, I might be able to get decent iPhone reception here now, although I know it would be much more limited than Sprint or Verizon when traveling).

I purchased one of the refurbished original Kindles and received a refurbished replacement for my DX (I had problems with the charging connection after several months), and could not tell any difference in the units or the packaging. They appear to be the same as brand new Kindles and have worked flawlessly since I received them. The refurbished units have the same warranty as the new and are eligible for Amazon's Prime shipping (but not the free 2-day shipping for non-Prime customers, that Amazon is offering for the new units, mentioned above).

These are the US versions and have Sprint wireless coverage:

• Kindle (6" Display, U.S. Wireless) ($189.99)
• Kindle DX (9.7" Display, U.S. Wireless) ($369.99)

These are the latest generation, global versions and have AT&T wireless coverage:

• Kindle (6" Display, Global Wireless) ($219.99)
• Kindle DX (9.7" Display, Global Wireless) ($415.99)

There are a few other bargains that Amazon has in their Kindle Warehouse Deals, which change quite frequently. I've seen the Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On Light for $12.99 and a number of Kindle covers there at similar discounts.