Torrance Manufacturer Scores Big Without Keyboards

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How can a 25-person private company compete with computer manufacturing giants Microsoft, Apple and Dell?

Torrance-based TabletKiosk has managed to carve out a niche market in the past five years since its launch, growing more than 100 percent annually in revenue, which is expected to hit $25 million this year.

TabletKiosk produces touch-screen computer tablets without keyboards. They weigh less than three pounds each, and come with a stylus and handwriting recognition software. The tablets’ processing power and Internet capabilities are on par with a typical laptop.

The product, called Slate, is being touted as a high-tech replacement for clipboards or notepads used by researchers, doctors and even waitresses.

The company client list includes Northrop Grumman Corp., NASA, Johns Hopkins and Stanford universities, and the Hard Rock Caf & #233; chain.

“People are using the device for everything from uploading X-rays to doing public surveys,” said Martin Smekal, TabletKiosk chief executive.

About 90 percent of TabletKiosk’s sales are business to business, and the orders are not mass produced and don’t go to bulk buyers such as school districts.

“We’re not a Gateway that sells 10,000 units to a school,” Smekal said. Instead, many orders are custom built with a client’s specific branding and specifications.

The five-year-old company, which is not venture funded, also operates a research and

development site in Taiwan.

Last year, the company began selling in Japan. This year, it will be in negotiations to secure distribution channels in China.


Entertainment Advance

Up until now, 11,000 movies, television shows and music videos on CinemaNow Inc.’s Web site could only be viewed on a computer screen or a download device.

Last week, CinemaNow announced a partnership with Macrovision, a software company, that would bring the company’s digital content to TV sets.

The two companies are introducing the technology at International CES in Las Vegas this week with hopes that manufacturers of digital television sets, set-top boxes or network-attached storage devices will license the software.

Once equipped with Macrovision’s software, the concept works a lot like a pay-per view option on satellite or cable TV, where users would pay incrementally for a show or a movie.

“But instead of having about 20 movies available on your satellite, we have about 10,000 videos available,” said Curt Marvis, chief executive of CinemaNow. “Clearly, in everything we’ve seen, the biggest consumer desire is more and more content. Some people want to get that movie on a portable device; others want to store thousands of films. We’re just making it easy for them to access the content.”

CinemaNow’s content can be downloaded to own, rented on pay-per-view, or burned to a DVD, with pricing ranging from $1.99 to $19.99. Its content is made available through licensing agreements with 250 producers and media companies, including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sundance Channel and Warner Bros.

Films and videos on CinemaNow’s site draw about 1.5 million unique visitors every month. The company, founded in 1999, has 50 employees.

In December, Macrovision, based in Silicon Valley, announced a merger with L.A.-based Gemstar-TV Guide.


Mobile Merger

Mobile content producer TwistBox Entertainment Inc. has raised $32 million over the past two years and now it has merged with a public company.

TwistBox will become a subsidiary of L.A.-based Mandalay, a shell company operated by Trinad Capital Master Fund, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The Sherman Oaks-based producer of mobile content provides games and mobile TV channels worldwide to about 100 operators in 40 countries. The company’s chief executive, Ian Aaron, previously president of TV Guide Television Group, will join the board of Mandalay.


In the Kitchen

Santa Monica-based Cooking.com, an Internet marketplace for kitchen appliances, recently received a $7 million loan to expand operations.

The money, which comes from Orix Venture Finance, will also be used to enhance the site’s library of recipes, articles and user-generated content.

Founded in 1998, Cooking.com also operates FoodNetworkStore.com, StarbucksStore.com, KitchenEtc.com, PillsburyStore.com and BettyCrockerStore.com


Staff reporter Booyeon Lee can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230, or at [email protected].

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