Technology Briefing

The chief executive of Seattle-based Dwango Wireless, which provides ring tones and other content to mobile phones, resigned Monday after the company reported a 17 percent decline in second-quarter revenue. Rick Hennessey, who is also resigning from the company's board, will be replaced on an interim bases by President and Chief Operating Officer Alexander Conrad.

Dwango reported revenue of $885,000 in the second quarter. Its net loss grew to $5.56 million from $4.85 million for the same period last year. It finished the quarter with $9.1 million in cash and short-term investments.

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Bellevue-based Detto Technologies, which allows computer users to more easily transfer files, said it has raised $1.5 million in financing over the past three months, including a $1 million investment from a Geneva investment firm. ... Expedia Inc. will start a new corporate travel site for the Canadian market early next year. Canada will be one seven countries where the Bellevue online travel company operates corporate travel service.

NATIONAL NEWS

Sprint Nextel spinoff will have $7.25 billion in debt

Sprint Nextel Corp. said Monday its spinoff local company will have $7.25 billion in debt and award annual dividends of about $300 million.

Sprint Nextel plans to spin off its local phone service division to a separate company in the next nine to 12 months, with the business led by former AT&T Wireless and Terabeam Chief Executive Dan Hesse.

That company, which will be the fifth-largest in the country with 7.5 million access lines in 18 states, will take with it $7.25 billion in debt, which the Sprint Nextel board of directors said in a news release "will result in the local business having financial characteristics consistent with companies that have been rated 'investment grade' by major ratings agencies."

Shares of Sprint Nextel, based in Reston, Va., fell 10 cents to $26.21 in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares trade under the S ticker after the merger of Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc., which was completed last week.

The dividend is payable Sept. 30 to shareholders of record on Sept. 9, the company said in a statement.

Intel's investment arm stays busy with Chinese fund

Intel Corp., the world's largest computer-chip maker, said its $200 million China Technology Fund invested in three Chinese companies, two months after the fund was announced.

Intel invested in Chipsbrand Microelectronics (H.K.) Co. Ltd., which designs semiconductors; Onewave Technologies Inc., a maker of equipment for Internet television; and VeriSilicon Holdings Co. Ltd., which offers design services to chip companies.

No financial details were given.

Intel Capital, the investment arm of Santa-Clara, Calif.- based Intel, set up the China fund in June to help strengthen its position in the world's second-largest computer market.

BellSouth, Napster team up to attract more customers

Napster Inc. and BellSouth Corp., the No. 3 U.S. provider of high-speed Internet access over digital subscriber lines, will team to offer free three-month online music memberships to win customers for both companies.

New subscribers to one of the two highest-speed BellSouth DSL plans can get a free MP3 music player with three months of Napster service, BellSouth said Monday in a statement. Los Angeles- based Napster said it was the first time it has aligned with an Internet service provider.

The agreement will help Napster, which had a loss in its latest quarter after spending more on marketing and advertising, gain access to BellSouth's base of 2.4 million customers. BellSouth, the biggest local telephone carrier in nine southeastern U.S. states, will get more content to lure Internet subscribers. Last month it cut the prices of high-speed Web service and equipment to reduce customer defections.

Technology Briefing is written by P-I reporters Todd Bishop, John Cook and Dan Richman. Send comments to johncook@seattlepi.com. This report includes information from The Associated Press and Bloomberg News.

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