Amazon will be releasing an update for Kindle software. The v2.5 update brings a variety of new features that Kindle users may or may not love.

Like every other electronic device out there, the Kindle is now more social thanks to the addition of Facebook and Twitter features that let you share parts of books via the social media sites. A similar feature called Popular Highlights lets you view what passages other readers from the Kindle community liked in the book that you’re reading–sounds kind of like when you’d buy a used book in college and have to read through multi-colored highlighter marks.

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Shortly before the iPad was trouncing both of them, the Nook had a strong month of March and beat out the Amazon Kindle in terms of e-readers shipped. According to numbers by Digitimes, B&N took 53 percent of e-readers shipped in March. Analyst Mingchi Kuo said that the strong showing was due in part to general consumer interest in new products, so the Nook won’t necessarily continue such strong numbers.

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With the recent launches of the Barnes & Noble Nook and Apple iPad, the e-class-leading Amazon Kindle is at a distinct disadvantage: there’s no where for potential buyers to get their germ-infested hands on it and try it before buying it. And there’s no way of comparing it with those other two devices, so if you like one of them, there’s really no reason to consider the Kindle.

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Remember that whole Amazon/publisher pricing war that went down right around the time the iPad was unveiled and its e-book prices were revealed? Well, if a new report on AppAdvice is to be believed, it looks like Apple was just f-ing with Amazon in a big way. A leaked preview of iPad book pricing shows that the overwhelming majority of bestsellers, including all of the top 10, are priced at $9.99, the same low-ball price that you’d find on the Kindle.

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Amazon is really covering all its bases in shoring up against iPad competition. The retailer launched a ‘Kindle for Mac’ app today and reminded consumers that Kindle content can be enjoyed on all types of devices including PCs, Blackberries, iPhones and, yes, iPads (soon). As the name spells out pretty clearly, the free application allows users to read Kindle books on Mac computers.

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Barnes & Noble is wisely hedging its e-reader bets. With the iPad getting its last-minute prepping for presale tomorrow, the company announced that it will offer a free Nook app for Apple’s tablet expected to drop around the iPad’s launch on April 3. The application will give iPad users access to the million + titles of books, newspapers and magazines available from Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore.

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The latest tech news by way of job posting relates to Amazon’s continual improvement upon the Kindle. The retailer appears ready to greatly improve upon the rudimentary Web browsing experience offered on the Kindle and recently posted a job listing within its Lab126 e-reading division for a browser software engineer. The hire is tasked with helping to “provide an innovative Embedded Web Browser.”

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Here’s a great way for Amazon to keep the Kindle competitive once the iPad hits the market: give it away for free. A piece in TechCrunch this morning says that the retailer wants to do just that, albeit to select customers.

Citing a “reliable source”, Michael Arrington says that Amazon is planning on rolling out a new program that will deliver Kindles to the doorsteps of all Amazon Prime subscribers–free of charge. As the thinking goes, the top-tier customers are likely to make up for the cost of the Kindle in e-books purchased over time. The move would also help prevent these loyal customers from unleashing their e-reading dollars elsewhere.

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Right before Apple brought its iPad to the surface, Amazon announced that it would be offering apps on the Kindle, a move that was obviously meant to position it head to head against the iPad. Of course, Amazon’s device lacks pretty much everything that the iPad offers– outside of e-reading capabilities.

According to a New York Times article, Amazon is preparing to upgrade the Kindle to better position it against the iPad. The retail and e-reading giant reportedly purchased Touchco, a NY start-up that specializes in touchscreen technology. Amazon will roll its new company into its Kindle hardware division.

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