Nuance’s Dragon Dictation is one of my “must have” apps for iOS devices. Their Dragon Search app is also a mainstay on my iPhone. Actually it WAS a mainstay… until now. For the past few weeks it has lost its place on my home screen. In its place has been a Beta version of Nuance’s new Dragon Go! app. Dragon Go! is the next step in the evolution of mobile search and it is coming to the US App Store today.
With the new app:
…people simply speak a query, and the app automatically determines and then delivers the best content destinations via the newly optimized Dragon CarouselTM. Gone are the days of endless scrolling. Dragon Go! always puts the most relevant pages front and center, and additional content from related providers is easily accessible on the Carousel with just a simple flick of the finger. Dynamic results are provided center and to the right, with additional results from Google, Bing or Yahoo!, Wikipedia, Twitter and YouTube available to the left
Here’s a quick look and the Nuance news release on what is a significant new app for iOS devices.
The idea behind Dragon Go! is that is brings intelligent search to the iPhone and iPod touch. Instead of speaking your query and being delivered a series of links Dragon Go! uses Nuance’s advanced voice recognition technology to determine what it is you are actually trying to find. For example, if your query is a request for directions the app will find the location you want and then automatically open the maps app. If you are looking for a song you won’t just be delivered a series of links with the song but rather you will be offered a Pandora or Last.fm station playing it. And there’s more. Make a request such as “Cases for iPad 2 on Gear Diary” and it pulls up news and reviews on iPad 2 cases ON OUR SITE! It is search that’s smart!
As the company explains, Dragon Go! is
a revolutionary and free application for iPhone and iPod touch that gives consumers immediate, direct access to the mobile content they want. Dragon Go! marks a generational leap in the mobile content experience to pick up where search leaves off. Not only does Dragon Go! hear what people are searching for, but it understands what they want, giving them direct access to relevant results from 180 of the most trusted and reliable content providers, including AccuWeather, Bing, ESPN, Facebook, Fandango, iTunes, Last.fm, LiveNation, Milo.com, OpenTable, Pandora ® internet radio, Rotten Tomatoes, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yelp, YouTube, Yahoo! and many others – with the list of content providers growing each day.
With Dragon Go! you can find apps, songs, directions and more. As Nuance explains,
Say “Call Whole Foods Market near me” and instantly see a list of stores near you including phone numbers to tap and call. Say “Play Lady Gaga” and automatically hear songs by Lady Gaga on your device, or say “Lady Gaga on Pandora” to instantly access your personalized Lady Gaga station. Say “Driving Directions to the Capital Grille” and get turn-by-turn directions to the nearest Capital Grille location from the Maps application.
Once you start using Dragon Go! (it took me a while to get the hang of saying things in the right manner so as to get the proper response) you’ll think it a bit “magical”. Awesome it is but magical it is not. Instead, as Vlad Sejnoha, chief technical officer, Nuance explains,
Dragon Go! showcases Nuance’s advancements in Natural Language Understanding, taking an open-ended spoken query and not only making the input easier and faster, but also enhancing the way people consume mobile web content and apps, By understanding the intended actions of the mobile consumer, we can eliminate multiple intervening steps, and take people directly to where they want to end up – be it Pandora, Yelp, Fandango, LiveNation, and many, many other apps and sites.
The app will be out in the US App Store some time today. (Sorry, outside the US the Dragon Search app will remain in place for the time being.)
Here’s a look at the app in action. As I noted in the beginning, I’ve been using it for a few weeks and it is pretty amazing!
[showhide]
Nuance’s Dragon Go! Now Available in the Apple App Store
Revolutionary Dragon App Hears What You Say, Knows What You Want; Direct Content from 180 Providers Including Yelp, OpenTable, Fandango, ESPN, Pandora, LiveNation, Last.fm, AccuWeather, Milo.com, and Many More
BURLINGTON, MASS. – July 14, 2011 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced Dragon Go!, a revolutionary and free application for iPhone and iPod touch that gives consumers immediate, direct access to the mobile content they want. Dragon Go! marks a generational leap in the mobile content experience to pick up where search leaves off. Not only does Dragon Go! hear what people are searching for, but it understands what they want, giving them direct access to relevant results from 180 of the most trusted and reliable content providers, including AccuWeather, Bing, ESPN, Facebook, Fandango, iTunes, Last.fm, LiveNation, Milo.com, OpenTable, Pandora ® internet radio, Rotten Tomatoes, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yelp, YouTube, Yahoo! and many others – with the list of content providers growing each day.
With Dragon Go!, people simply speak a query, and the app automatically determines and then delivers the best content destinations via the newly optimized Dragon CarouselTM. Gone are the days of endless scrolling. Dragon Go! always puts the most relevant pages front and center, and additional content from related providers is easily accessible on the Carousel with just a simple flick of the finger. Dynamic results are provided center and to the right, with additional results from Google, Bing or Yahoo!, Wikipedia, Twitter and YouTube available to the left
Dragon Go! combines Nuance’s Dragon voice recognition technology with natural language understanding, unique analytical tools, and elements of artificial intelligence. The result is an app that understands the intent of a query, and what a person wants to do – be it getting restaurant reviews, buying movie tickets, shopping, finding directions, listening to their favorite music, and more. For example:
Say “The best Mexican food near me,” and instantly be taken to the Yelp tab for local reviews, or flip over to the Phone tab to quickly call to find out about any specials on the menu that evening.
Say “Reservations for two at Capital Grille in Boston,” to be taken directly to OpenTable to book a table for dinner, or scroll over to Maps tab to find out how to get there from where you are now.
Say “Cowboys & Aliens near me” to instantly buy tickets, read fan reviews and see trailers on Fandango, and then scroll over to Twitter to see what other people are saying about the movie.
Say “Nikon cameras” and you can move to the Milo.com tab to see the best local prices from nearby brick-and-mortar stores, or opt to see the product in action through video demos on YouTube.
Say “Concert dates for Kings of Leon,” and be taken to the LiveNation tab to lock in tickets, flip to the media tab to listen to Kings of Leon on Pandora Radio or Last.fm, or download the album “Come Around Sundown.”
Say “Baseball fantasy stats” and instantly see the latest player stats on ESPN.com
Say “Weather in Albuquerque, New Mexico” and get up-to-the-minute weather updates from AccuWeather.
Dragon Go! also features deep integration with a number of the applications on the device people use the most. For instance:
Say “Call Whole Foods Market near me” and instantly see a list of stores near you including phone numbers to tap and call.
Say “Play Lady Gaga” and automatically hear songs by Lady Gaga on your device, or say “Lady Gaga on Pandora” to instantly access your personalized Lady Gaga station.
Say “Driving Directions to the Capital Grille” and get turn-by-turn directions to the nearest Capital Grille location from the Maps application.
“Dragon Go! showcases Nuance’s advancements in Natural Language Understanding, taking an open-ended spoken query and not only making the input easier and faster, but also enhancing the way people consume mobile web content and apps,” said Vlad Sejnoha, chief technical officer, Nuance. “By understanding the intended actions of the mobile consumer, we can eliminate multiple intervening steps, and take people directly to where they want to end up – be it Pandora, Yelp, Fandango, LiveNation, and many, many other apps and sites.”
Additionally, Dragon Go! lets people quickly and easily share information with their social networks through a pop-up toolbar to share links by email, text message, Facebook or Twitter. And when speaking to Dragon Go! is not an option, people can easily pull up the keypad and type in text as needed.
“Dragon Go! delivers today’s mobile consumers a level of instant gratification that has never been available with legacy search providers,” said Michael Thompson, senior vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “We intelligently transport users direct to their destination – no scrolling, links, or tapping, just direct access to the content providers people love and trust. And this is just the beginning – our range of partners is growing every day, with even more extensive app integration planned over the next year.”
Dragon Go! is available on the Apple App Store in the U.S. in U.S. English.
Dragon Go! is the latest addition to the Dragon Mobile Apps family, which includes the renowned Dragon Dictation and original Dragon Search apps for iOS, available today in US, U.K. and Australian English, German, European and Canadian French, Italian, Americas and European Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin Taiwan, Cantonese and Korean. The Apps can be downloaded in the US, Canadian, Mexican, UK, German, Swiss, Austrian, French, Italian, Australian, Spanish, The Netherlands, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Korean App Stores.
To learn more about all of the Dragon Mobile Apps, including Dragon for E-Mail and FlexT9, visit www.NuanceMobileLife.com. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter @DragonTweets and @NuanceMobile, and become a Fan of Dragon Mobile Apps on Facebook.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance is a leading provider of voice and language 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: nuance.com.
###
Nuance, Dragon Go!, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Dragon, Dragon Search Carousel, and the Nuance logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States of America and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
[/showhide]
