Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) confident of being a third strong player in smartphone segment

Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer expects the company's Windows Phone 8 to add more depth to the smartphone market and expects the sales of its phones with its partners, including Nokia, to catch on fast.

"With the work we have done with Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), HTC, Samsung and others ... there is now an opportunity to create really a strong third participant in the smartphone market. We're still relatively small ... I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly," he said in Israel at a launch for the Windows phone 8 operating system.

Nokia's Lumia smartphones, running on Windows Phone 8 operating software will soon be hitting the markets and Microsoft has a lot riding on that.

However it has also allied itself with other handset makers such as Samsung, HTC and others to drive its operating software.

At present the smartphone market is dominated by two operating systems, Google's Android and Apple's iOS, which is proprietary. There is no third viable alternative in the market to take on the two leaders and this is the spot that Microsoft is aiming for at the moment.

Research in Motion is still there and Microsoft will need to knock the ailing Canadian company off its precarious perch at third spot, before it can aspire for anything more. It's been a while since the Blackberry maker has released an upgraded version of its operating system, which it has been delaying.

Though a new entrant to the mobile devices segment, Microsoft has the advantage of a good brand equity and a track record in operating system, at least in computing devices. So far its mobile operating systems have failed to catch on, but this time around the company is determined to make its mark.