Sony has never had much luck with its e-readers. While they are, in many ways, superior to the Kindle and Nook but they’ve never taken off because of perceived inadequacies in book store access.

Bloomberg has a bit of news, however, that should cheer Sony stalwarts. According to a Sony spokesperson, the new devices “will probably be offered with hardware and software improvements in August.” These units should arrive before the S1 and S2 we demoed yesterday.

The field is big enough to hold multiple players in the ebook game and, although Nook and Kindle excel at aftermarket content sales, I could perceive a time when Sony’s offerings are aimed more at the student and academic while the Kindle is for folks who just want to read popular titles.

Sadly, without a dedicated bookstore with a real brand behind it, Sony will probably always end up playing third fiddle to the other two ebook juggernauts.

via Best-Ereaders