Software version 3.0.3 of the Kindle 6″ device is to be released as an ‘early preview’. This version brings general performance upgrades and at the moment it can be tested and reviewed by customers. The updates, while not extremely significant in the grand scheme of things, are a reminder of Amazon’s dedication to the Kindle, despite ongoing success of the iPad.  See here for more details on the update.

Amazon, the massive commerce company, has been heavily promoting its e-book reader in the last period and this seems to set the trend in the digital media environment, judging by the continuous updates from competitors as a reaction to Amazon’s sustained upgrades.

It’s the latest in a long line of updates from Amazon, which have regularly promoted the Kindle as a reader’s dream.  It’s indicative of what Amazon is hoping for with the eReader device, as more and more publishers hop on this bandwagon.  From a platform standpoint, Amazon is still a leader, but faces drawing competition from Apple, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and more.  This is only the beginning of the platform wars.

With Apple announcing an App Store for Macbooks in the coming months, there’s also more potential threats and opportunities for Amazon, especially as the company has just released a desktop version of Kindle.  The retailer has placed Kindle on just about every device possible, montizing its many access points across the board.  These are just some of the ongoing challenges we’ll be seeing from the digital era, as media turns increasingly to web distribution.