Windows Phone boss says dual-core and LTE smartphones are coming

Microsoft plans to release dual-core, LTE-enabled Windows Phone devices as part of its attempts to build up the platform as a credible third choice behind iOS and Android in the smartphone market.

Andy Lees, president of the Windows Phone division, said that Microsoft will release dual-core devices when software is optimised to make use of multiple cores, but maintained that the performance of current Phone 7 devices is still high-end.

"They're all single core, but I suspect that they will be faster in usage than any dual-core phone that you put against it, and that's the point," Lees told AllThingsD.

In terms of LTE, Microsoft will not include the feature until it can support the fast network speeds without compromising the efficiency of devices.

"The first LTE phones were big and big [users] of the battery, and I think it's possible to do it in a way that is far more efficient, and that's what we will be doing," he continued.

Lees declined to give an exact date for when the additional functionality will be added to Windows Phone devices, but the features are most likely to debut in 2012.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has openly admitted that sales of Windows Phone devices have not been as high as expected and lost his bonus due to the underwhelming performance of the division.

However, Lees remains optimistic, especially in light of the updated Windows Phone Mango release.

"We're not making specific predictions but I think that our momentum is going to build. Our first [release] was about mindshare, and really getting the credibility, and I think [Mango] is really about starting to build unit volume and market share," he added.