Microsoft’s top mobile executive, Andy Lees, is talking up the prospects for a Windows Phone comeback in a series of media interviews — saying among other things that the Android ecosystem is becoming too “chaotic,” while Apple is offering too little variety by not upgrading the iPhone’s exterior hardware.

“From a pure hardware perspective, I was surprised they’re not giving the consumer more choice,” Lees says in an interview in today’s Seattle Times. “People want a variety of different things.”

Apple this morning announced that the iPhone 4S attracted a record 1 million preorders in its first day. The new phone, being released later this week, overhauls the processor, graphics, camera inside the existing iPhone 4’s shell. The iPhone is available for the first time on Sprint in addition to AT&T and Verizon in the U.S..

Microsoft’s market share has dipped into the single digits amid the transition from the legacy Windows Mobile OS to the restyled Windows Phone platform. The recent Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” update has been well-received by existing Windows Phone users, but retail clerks at U.S. wireless carriers still seem reluctant at times to pitch Windows Phone over Android devices, in particular.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, the Microsoft executive says Samsung and HTC will be boosting their marketing budgets for Windows Phone in part to boost retail incentives.

Lees tells AllThingsD that future Windows Phones will have dual-core processors and run on 4G LTE networks.

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