Hurtling a couple of digs against Apple and Android, Windows Phone chief Andy Lees is naturally playing up the ripeness of Microsoft's Mango with a variety of phones expected for the holiday season.
Speaking with The Seattle Times yesterday, Lees, president of Microsoft's Windows Phone division, said he believes Apple missed an opportunity with the iPhone 4S. Comparing the new iPhone with Mango-enabled Windows Phone devices, Lees expressed surprise that Apple didn't give consumers more choice in terms of the hardware.
Those consumers apparently don't see eye-to-eye with Lees. This morning, Apple announced that it logged 1 million preorders for the iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours it was on sale.
By comparison, Microsoft's annual proxy statement last week to the Securities and Exchange Commission mentioned, among other things, "lower than expected initial sales of Windows Phone 7." CEO Steve Ballmer had said expressed a similar regret at the company's financial analyst meeting in September: "We haven't sold quite as many probably as I would have hoped we would have sold in the first year."
Lees, meanwhile, seemed less than fond of Android as well, saying it's "heading down this chaotic phase." Calling some of the Android phones great and some not so great, he sees Google's mobile OS as "several cooks in the kitchen trying to bake different things with the same thing."
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Microsoft has been busy rolling out Mango to existing Windows Phone handsets and pinning high hopes on a slew of new phones, from low-budget models under $100 to high-end editions, all scheduled to launch in time for the holiday season.
The company is eyeing 4G LTE phones for next year. And it's looking at dual-core phones as well, though Lees was mum about a timeframe, according to an interview with AllThingsD.
The Windows Phone chief sees the variety of Windows Phone models as its one of its core strengths. But since Microsoft works directly with the operators and manufacturers, the company is able to avoid the "chaos" found in Android, in his opinion.
Lees touted other advantages of Windows Phone by saying that most smartphones platforms force users to run multiple apps to perform a single series of tasks, such as finding a restaurant, reading a review, and making a reservation. But Microsoft's OS handles such tasks in a "flowing, almost singular experience," he said.
Microsoft is also counting on partner Nokia to push the drive toward Windows Phone. The Finnish mobile phone maker is expected to unveil its first handsets running Windows Phone later this month at the Nokia World trade show in London.
Updated 9:22 a.m. PT: Added sales figures for Apple's iPhone 4S and background on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 sales.
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