DragonNaturally Speaking is simply the best voice recognition software available. Period. It lets you use you voice to not only write on your Windows PC but navigate the computer and much more. Well this morning Nuance is announcing Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5, the latest version of their voice recognition software. As the company explains, version 11.5
adds new features that make it easier to create documents, send emails, surf the Web, share social status and interact with many PC applications.
I watched a demo of NaturallySpeaking 11.5 in action a few weeks ago and there are a couple of great new features that stand out. When I asked why they were releasing a point upgrade with such fanfare rather than quietly sliding in an update when users launch the software I was told that, while most updates bring bug fixes and minor enhancements this new version adds significant new functionality that it deserves recognition in its own right.
1. Dragon Remote Mic
With Dragon 11.5 you can now use your iPhone as a remote microphone for your computer. This new functionality
makes it possible to use an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as a wireless microphone for Dragon via a Wi-Fi network connection.
That means you won’t need a headset or a microphone plugged into your computer to get accurate capture of your voice. Instead you just hold your iOS device to your mouth… And speak.
Key to the feature is the brand new, free Dragon Remote Mic App which is now available in the App Store. There are close to 200 million iOS devices currently in use and now every one can be used as a handheld microphone. Download the app here. (Note: this feature requires Dragon Premium, Professional or Legal version 11.5)
2. Social Media Integration
Nuance’s Dragon Dictation app, one of my most-used iOS apps, includes social media integration with Facebook and Twitter so you can automatically post your dictated text to them. NatruallySpeaking 11.5 brings that same easy posting to the PC. As they explain
Dragon 11.5 includes commands to consolidate multiple mouse clicks and keystrokes into a direct voice command, such as: “Post to Facebook [I love Dragon]” “Post to Twitter [Tweeting is so much easier by voice].
The same goes for other tasks that usually require multiple steps. Now you can simply say
“Harry said ‘Empty Quotes’ I’m going to the party with or without you”
“Search Amazon for Bluetooth headset”
“Search Twitter for haiku”
“Search maps for 11 West 53rd St., New York, NY”
“Search Dragon Help for working with Gmail”
“Send an email to Mike Smith” “Open My Pictures”
3. Improved User Interface
The Dragon Sidebar helps you discover and remember common commands. Now you can glance at or explore global, application-specific, and custom-created commands, while also viewing Dragon’s user tips. Version 11.5 delivers additional application contexts to the Sidebar (including WordPad, Vocabulary Editor and Command Browser) and layout improvements to maximize content and readability.
4. Smarter Formatting, Correcting and Editing
The new version of Dragon lets users use their voice to format text more naturally than ever. Simple voice commands such as “Bold Dragon is awesome,” or “Capitalize Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking” will yield immediate text formatting. In addition,
Dragon can apply (and undo) correction, formatting and editing to one or all instances of a word or group of words. The Dragon Correction Menu suggests more alternate recognitions by default and enables users to quickly add phrases to the vocabulary, or to prevent an undesired word from being recognized.
For ease of use the Spelling Window for typing or spelling words can now be resized and delivers more readable options for alternate words and phrases.
Also, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 makes it easier than ever to get up and going with the software, adds support for additional software compatibility
Which leaves just two remain question.
Question 1: How much?
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home and Premium are available immediately. Prices start at $99.99. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 11.5 and Legal 11.5 will be available in the coming weeks.
Best of all, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 is a free upgrade for current registered Dragon 11 users. For details visit the Nuance web site.
Question 2: Mac?
Okay that isn’t really a question… But this is: when will these features be coming to Dragon Dictate for Mac?
The answer is… Hopefully soon. Nuance won’t talk about upcoming releases until they are ready to share but since the company first rolled out Dragon Dictate (after purchasing MacSpeech Dictate and retooling the software) they have seemed to follow up new NaturallySpeaking releases with Mac updates a short time later. I hope that is the case here since the Remote Mic functionality is awesome.
Update: This image from the app’s help page makes clear that this functionality is coming to the Mac version. In fact, the initial splash screen refers to it as Dragon Dictate 2.5. The timing remains anyone’s guess however.
More information here. The full press release follows.
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Nuance Releases Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 11.5 and New Dragon Remote Mic App for Apple iOS
Leading Speech Recognition Application Adds New Social Media Sharing Capabilities, Correction and Editing Features and More; New Remote Mic App Turns iPhone into Wireless Mic that Allows you to Dictate into and Control Applications on Your PC
BURLINGTON, Mass., June 13, 2010 — Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a provider of speech solutions, today unveiled Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5, a new release of the world’s best-selling speech recognition software for the PC. Building on the improved accuracy, faster performance and intuitive new interface introduced in Dragon 11, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 adds new features that make it easier to create documents, send emails, surf the Web, share social status and interact with many PC applications.
In conjunction with the launch of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5, Nuance introduced the Dragon Remote Mic App, a free application on the Apple iOS app store which makes it possible to use an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as a wireless microphone for Dragon via a Wi-Fi network connection. Many customers have requested to use their smartphones and other mobile devices with Dragon to have more flexibility with how and where they dictate with Dragon. The new Dragon Remote Mic App takes advantage of the nearly 200 million iOS devices1 in use today, and transforms the device into a wireless microphone that easily captures dictation and controls applications on your PC.
Dragon has quickly grown in popularity as a mobile application for the Apple iOS, and millions of people around the globe have downloaded Nuance’s Dragon Dictation app, which allows users to speak text for SMS text messages, emails, social media updates and more. The app has been ranked as a number one free application in nearly every region it has launched since its launch in December of 2009. With amazing accuracy and speed, the Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search mobile apps for iOS have given millions of people a peek at the power of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
“As mobile devices and social networks have become a more important part of our customers’ lives, they have asked us for more flexibility in how they can use Dragon,” said Peter Mahoney, senior vice president and general manager, Dragon, Nuance. “People who have never tried Dragon before will be genuinely impressed with all the ways it lets you interact with your digital world. Those who are already familiar with Dragon will see some exciting improvements that extend its use with social sharing, and add flexibility with microphones and recording devices.”
New to Dragon? The Dragon family of speech recognition software lets you control your computer with your voice. It’s the hands-free way to turn speech into text, whether you are capturing family stories, surfing the Web, posting an update to Facebook or Twitter, or helping your children cut homework time in half. Dragon gives people an easy, natural way to get more done in less time.
Current Dragon Users will appreciate the new upgrades and features in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5, including:
Enhanced Commands and Social Features – Dragon collapses common multi-step tasks on the PC into direct voice commands. You can send emails and schedule meetings, post an update to Facebook or Twitter, search the Web for information, quote or bracket text easily, search your desktop, and navigate between Windows, simply by speaking the action you want to complete. Dragon 11.5 includes commands to consolidate multiple mouse clicks and keystrokes into a direct voice command, such as:
“Post to Facebook [I love Dragon]”
“Post to Twitter [Tweeting is so much easier by voice]”
“Harry said ‘Empty Quotes’ I’m going to the party with or without you”
“Search Amazon for Bluetooth headset”
“Search Twitter for haiku”
“Search maps for 11 West 53rd St., New York, NY”
“Search Dragon Help for working with Gmail”
“Send an email to Mike Smith”
“Open My Pictures”
Dragon Remote Mic (Requires Dragon Premium, Professional or Legal version 11.5) – Turn your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a wireless microphone to dictate into or completely control applications on your PC via a Wi-Fi network connection. If you want to free yourself from your corded headset, now you can use a device that you may already have.
Improved User Interface – The Dragon Sidebar helps you discover and remember common commands. Now you can glance at or explore global, application-specific, and custom-created commands, while also viewing Dragon’s user tips. Version 11.5 delivers additional application contexts to the Sidebar (including WordPad, Vocabulary Editor and Command Browser) and layout improvements to maximize content and readability.
Smarter Formatting, Correcting and Editing – Dragon users can issue simple voice commands to format text, such as “Bold New House Listings,” or “Capitalize Today’s Featured House.” In addition, Dragon can apply (and undo) correction, formatting and editing to one or all instances of a word or group of words. The Dragon Correction Menu suggests more alternate recognitions by default and enables users to quickly add phrases to the vocabulary, or to prevent an undesired word from being recognized. In Dragon 11.5, the Spelling Window (allowing users to type or spell out a word) is now resizable and delivers more readable options for alternate words and phrases, making it easier for users to modify or correct text.
Getting Started with Dragon is Faster and Easier – Dragon 11.5 adds enhancements to make getting started simpler. It’s now much faster and easier to create a user profile, or to enhance existing profiles with the Enhanced Profile Upgrade Wizard.
More Software Support – Adding to Dragon’s existing software compatibility –including Microsoft Office 2010 applications and Full Text Control, Menu Tracking, and Natural Language Commands support for Word 2010, Outlook 2010, and Excel 2010, OpenOffice Writer, and updated user interfaces for netbooks – Dragon 11.5 adds support for even more applications and operating systems including:
Internet Explorer 9
Windows Live Mail 2011 (V15)
OpenOffice Writer version 3.3
Windows 7 SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
“Overall, Dragon 11.5 is the best version of Dragon that Nuance has released – and I’ve been using it since version 9,” said Steve Smith, an Information Technology Consultant. “Performance is outstanding and recognition speed is virtually instantaneous. In my experience, the recognition accuracy in Dragon 11.5 is so improved that I only need look at my dictation when I mispronounce a word. Adding words to the vocabulary is easier now – a great feature since I use a large number of acronyms.”
Availability
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 Home and Premium are available immediately starting at $99.99 through Nuance’s Web site as well as its global network of reseller partners, software retailers and professional sales organizations. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 is a free upgrade for current registered Dragon 11 users. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 11.5 and Legal 11.5 will be available in the coming weeks from Nuance and through Nuance’s value added resellers worldwide. For additional information on features, editions, pricing and volume licensing programs, please visit http://www.nuance.com/dragon.
The new Dragon Remote Mic App is available immediately as a free download in the Apple App Store here. Simply follow the instructions included with Dragon to use the new app to turn your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a wireless microphone.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Dragon has long been a leading speech recognition application on the desktop, used by millions of people around the world. As demand for speech has grown, Nuance has sought to make speech recognition accessible to more people, from more places and devices. Nuance has launched several Dragon Mobile Apps – including Dragon Dictation, Dragon Search, Dragon for E-mail and FlexT9 – for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and select BlackBerry and Android devices to allow people to send email or text messages or update their social status on the go by voice.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance is a leading provider of speech, imaging and customer interaction solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit: www.nuance.com.
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