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Another dot-com has bitten the dust, leaving a trail of shock, bitterness and distrust among laid off employees. This time, the company is Modo.net, a consumer-focused city guide delivered wirelessly to pager-sized devices.

After burning through an estimated $40 million in venture capital within two months of launch, Modo.net pulled the plug on its content-delivery operations. During a conference call yesterday, according to staff who were there, the company let the all of the estimated 50 employees go.

Although official details on how many staff were affected by the shutdown were not available at press time, ex-employees told atNewYork.com that 10 writers in the Silicon Alley offices were laid off, along with an editorial group in Los Angeles and technical personnel in San Francisco.

Modo.net, launched by San Francisco-based Scout Electromedia, was planning to make the walnut-shaped MODO wireless device the fall fashion fetish. With a high-profile ad campaign (sources say $20 million was spent on advertising), MODO made its debut in New York, hitting users with chunks of information on the city's dining and entertainment scene, delivered in a device that snuggled into one's palm.

The company had landed millions in funding from investors that included idealab!, Chase Capital Partners, Flatiron Partners and Techfund Capital.

Calls to Modo.net's principals were not returned; as of this morning, the company's Web site had disappeared from cyberspace.

"It was sudden and shocking," one laid off employee told atNewYork.com. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the ex-Modo employee said a general staff meeting was called just after lunch yesterday when the announcement was made.

"They just told us the company was shutting down and we should clear out our desks. It was surreal. There we were, working on producing content one minute and, five minutes later, we were clearing our desks."

Another high-level insider said the company had just received a large re-order from Virgin Megastores, one of many retailers vending the $99 device. "At the very least, with this reorder from Virgin and with some other retail deals in place, we were pretty confident we would be up and running through Christmas, at the very least," he added.

Sources with knowledge of the company say Wieden+Kennedy, the high-profile ad agency, used up some $20 million in an ad campaign for MODO, which featured monster-sized billboards around New York City, pitching the theme: "Your guide to whatever you'd rather be doing."

Much like wireless competitor Vindigo, the folks at Scout were planning to place small ads at the bottom of their content pages on the 105 by 140 pixel MODO screen. In MODO's case, the selling point was that the device did not need hot-synching with a desktop computer because it updated event listings wirelessly.

While the MODO device was apparently slow to catch on, Modo.net management believed the bulk of the revenue base would be from the advertisements attached to the content offerings. "Even with the front-of-store placement deal with Virgin Megastores and other business deals with DKNY, Fred Segal, PageNet and Village Voice Media, the hip-clinging device never caught on with the mass market," the former employee said.

* Ryan Naraine is assistant editor of atNewYork.com