Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Windows Phone 8 being launched with its partners would create a strong third player in the smartphone market and sell quickly.

"With the work we have done with Nokia, HTC, Samsung and others ... there is now an opportunity to create really a strong third participant in the smartphone market," Ballmer said at an event to launch Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system in Israel, referring to Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms.

"We're still relatively small ... I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly."

Ballmer said Microsoft will do more marketing and advertising around Windows 8, its Surface tablet and Windows Phone than any products the company had ever done.