—Games and entertainment are hottest categories at Handango: Handango released its Yardstick for the first half of the year and reported that games jumped from fourth place to first place in just six months, followed close behind by the entertainment category—a first since the mobile content storefront began releasing the report. Entertainment and games comprised 42 percent of all sales in the top ten categories while business applications stood at 15 percent and productivity apps came in fourth place at 9 percent. Strong sales from EA Mobile and Capcom Interactive helped drive the surge in game-related sales. Handango also added more than 370 developers to its roster of more than 23,000 in the first half of the year. (Release).

—Bluto, Otter and Boon go mobile: Animal House and Tic-Tac-Dough are being revived as mobile games thanks to a new deal between SkyZone Entertainment and Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group. Animal House, which is scheduled for release on most major carriers late next month to coincide with a 30th anniversary DVD release, brings players into the Delta House to help throw more of those epic frat parties. Memorable quotes, characters and images from the film will be used throughout the game. Tic-Tac-Dough, a play on the TV game show which tests players’ trivia knowledge across six categories, is slated to launch early next year. (Release).

—Nokia Media Network’s lineup expands: A group of major European media companies have joined Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Media Network, a division formed out of the firm’s Enpocket purchase last year that allows advertisers to buy inventory on mobile sites, operators and a range of Nokia services such as Ovi. Agence France-Presse, RTL Mobile, Cuatro, Grupo Prisa, Unidad Editorial, CNET (NSDQ: CNET), Telegraph Media Group, Trinity Mirror and International Herald Tribune all signed on, Mobile Entertainment reports.

—More than 20 million U.S. households are landline-free: Americans and U.S. residents are continuing to pull the plug on their landlines. More than 20 million U.S. households are now without a landline and completely reliant on wireless service for voice communication, according to a new study from The Nielsen Company. While the current number sits at 17 percent of all U.S. households, the research firm expects it to jump to 20 percent by the end of the year. Telecommunications companies haven’t hid from the fact their landline businesses are declining and this only reinforces their expectations with more evidence of people going unplugged. The survey found that “cord cutters” tend to have lower income levels (59 percent have household incomes of less than $40,000) or smaller households with just one or two residents. (Release).