In the midst of rumors about Apple adding voice-to-text capabilities to the iPhone 5 and iOS 5, the leader in that technology, Nuance, has announced a major update to its Dragon NaturallySpeaking application.
The new version actually includes an iOS app for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches that turns any of these devices into a remote wireless mic for Dragon. Like any self-respecting software, the new version also includes a social networking tie-in, making Facebook and Twitter posts simpler.
"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 for Dragon at 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."
Nuance had already released a free speech-to-text app for iOS, called Dragon Dictation, which lets users speak to send SMS text messages, emails, and social media updates. The app has a four-star rating in the iOS app store and has ranked as a top free app since its release in December 2009. The new Dragon Remote Microphone app will also be free, but is only useful with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 or higher desktop app, which sells for $99.99 in the Home edition and $199.99 in the Premium edition. Premium adds playback of recorded speech command sequences, multiple dictation sources, the ability to control Microsoft Office apps, and more.
With version 11.5 of the Windows-only desktop app, users will now be able to tell their PC things like: "Post to Facebook" or "Post to Twitter." They'll also be able to search Amazon, Twitter, maps, or send an email with similar ease.
The apps interface has also been updated. A new sidebar shows commonly needed commands and a history of those you use frequently. Also made easier are setup and many voice commands. For example, you can now say "bold" followed by the text you want boldfaced, and you can correct or format multiple occurrences of a word or phrase. Finally, NaturallySpeaking 11.5 adds support for several newer mainstream applications, such as Internet Explorer 9, Windows Live Mail 2011, OpenOffice Writer 3.3, and Windows 7 SP1.
To find out more about Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5 or to purchase and download the software, head to the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Web site. Look for a full rated review of the software on PCMag.com in the coming days.
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