REDMOND, Wash. (CNNMoney.com) -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told software developers on Thursday that his company will prove doubters wrong and succeed in the mobile field, because the smartphone market is still in its infancy.

"We're early; there's no question we're early," Ballmer said at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference. "I think we kind of nailed it. When you see it, you just go 'ooooh.'"

Despite very positive reviews for the recently launched Windows Phone 7, some analysts have been skeptical about Microsoft's ability to to succeed in mobile. Its Windows Mobile platform commands less than 5% of the U.S. market, and the company pulled its badly received Kin devices off the market after just six short weeks.

But Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) says it's not going to back away from Windows Phone 7, because it thinks it has a real winner on its hands. The company also points out that more people will buy smartphones in the next three years than currently own smartphones, according to analysts' forecasts.