So the old kid on the block is back with new toys. The new Kindle Fire needs to be scalding-hot to face up against the stiff competition from Google. And now, with mini iPad rumors flying around like teenage sex scandals, any half-arsed attempts by Amazon will not be taken lightly.

It’s rumored to have a new screen with better resolution, thought to be 1280×800 (XWGA), which is the same as what the Google Nexus 7 has. Fancy that. This is up from the old Fire’s 1024×600.

The US$200 tablet market is going to look really dull and drab with all these seemingly identical products. That is, unless the Fire will has a bit of spice to suit its name. I think it’s going to need to, just to keep its head above water.

It’s apparently going to be lighter and thinner too. Everything is going lighter and thinner, so no surprise there. With a release date based around the second half of the year, expect to see it battling for top honours by Christmas for the very latest.