At a conference yesterday, Microsoft honcho Steve Ballmer admitted for the first time that the Windows Phone hasn’t been selling all that well. No specific sales figures were revelaed.

From the Register:

“I won’t say I’m not saying I love where we are, but I’m very optimistic to where I think we can be,” Ballmer said. “I think with a little bit more effort, a little bit more energy, the level of enthusiasm from the customer base is high enough we’ve just got to kick this thing to the next level. And I think we’re in absolute good shape in order to be a very strong third ecosystem in the smart phone world.”

Third! We’re number 3! We’re number 3! At least we hope to be!

Then he opened a refreshing can of RC Cola.

Although it’s tempting to count Microsoft out, and perhaps even accurate to do so, hold off for just a bit. The massive partnership forming with Nokia could still have a big yield and if that mumbled-about acquisition of BlackBerry happens, well, yeah, third.