Fullplay Media has the tools to entertain
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Who: Fullplay Media Systems
Where: Factoria.
Who's in charge: Dennis Tevlin, an eight-year veteran of Microsoft, where he was general manager of MSN and director of marketing for Office.
Lineage: The company, which has 30 full-time employees, was founded in 1995 by several former Microsoft employees as Interactive Objects, a Web-applications developer. It evolved into a contract designer of embedded systems, and created its own operating system for digital-media devices.
Hitting the big time: Big scores include contracts with Microsoft to design the media player for the PocketPC and the workings of a device for viewing digital pictures on television. It also developed Iomega's HipZip media player.
What's new: Last month, the company announced plans to sell its own line of consumer media devices based on its "Dharma" platform, and renamed itself Fullplay Media Systems. A $499 digital-audio player and recorder, including a CD player and hard drive, goes on sale in the second quarter. A home-media center, including a DVD and CD player and photo-display system, is scheduled for fall.
Turning point: The company had a major reorganization 18 months ago, after Tevlin was hired. It tightened its focus on its embedded media platform, stopped developing Web applications and cut staffing,
Key contract: Developing interactive kiosks for TransWorld music and video stores. The kiosks read bar codes, enabling customers to present a CD or DVD and get a preview of a song or video.
Numbers: The company had $1 million in revenue in third quarter 2001. Net loss was $157,000. The company is traded in the over-the-counter market.
Outlook: "This year looks very, very bright," Tevlin said. "This year is, I think, a breakthrough year for Fullplay."
— Brier Dudley