A sixth of iPhones `unlocked`

Apple has sold more than a million iPhones, but more than a sixth of them may never get hooked up to AT&T, the gadget`s exclusive US cellphone service provider, says The Mercury.

About 250 000 of the nearly 1.4 million iPhones that Apple has sold so far have gone to customers that do not have any intention of signing up for AT&T`s service, Apple COO Tim Cook said this week during a conference call with analysts and investors.

That is a problem not only for AT&T, which does not get any monthly service fees from those customers, but for Apple, with which AT&T shares a portion of iPhone service revenue.

Mobile phones play an important role in Microsoft`s software plus services vision, CEO Steve Ballmer said this week, reports PC World.

Microsoft software strategy a few years ago revolved around software that was either embedded on devices or burned onto CDs and shipped to users, he said. Today, however, software works in tandem with the Internet, which can backup and update the software.

"There`s no better way than the cell networks of the world to make this model happen," he said, speaking during the opening presentation at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment conference, in San Francisco. He envisions a time when software is wirelessly updated and works in tandem with services hosted on the Internet.

In a bid to increase stickiness on its site, MySpace will introduce a casual games channel in the new year, says Clickz. The new channel follows the addition of two video series and other content offerings.

"To me, games are probably the stickiest thing you can put on a Web site," said Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus and a Clickz columnist. "For MySpace to come out and make a concerted effort to add games to their repertoire, it will increase time, or possibly combat loss of time spent on the site."

MySpace games will be an ad-supported property with inventory in and around games. The social networking site partnered with white label casual games company Oberon to provide content for the channel.

It has been a couple of weeks since some eagle-eyed gamers first began to see them on store shelves, but Microsoft has officially announced the Xbox 360 Arcade, a new version of its popular video game console available at a lower price point - $279.99, reports PC World.

The Xbox 360 Arcade console combines a high-definition multimedia interface connector and 256MB of on-board memory for storing games and entertainment content.

It also includes five games previously available only to Xbox 360 users who signed up for Microsoft`s Xbox Live Arcade online service - Pac-Man Championship Edition, Uno, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rock and Feeding Frenzy. A wireless controller is also included.