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So, worldwide: e-readers shipped 12.8 million units, of which abt 6.1 were Kindles, 800,000 were Sony brand (in 5th place), which roughly implies abt 1-2 million each for B&N, Pandigital and Hanvon, and in that order. Kobo, presumably, is 6th or further upstream, implying max 700,000 units. (Pandigital, however, use Kobo software in some (all?) cases.)
Given Kobo's aggressive positioning as a feature / app on other devices (tablets, phones, PCs), an international bookstore presence, and a launch in the US as recently as late June, its power in the marketplace is somewhat shrouded by these stats. That's a remarkable achievement in such a short time. It also has to be said, Kindle has held on to a commanding lead: virtually 50% of the market vs a fragmented cluster of competing devices using a platform (epub) with enough inconsistencies to make leadership within the pack problematic.
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