Nuance has today released an upgrade to their Mac-based dictation software, Dragon Dictation 2.5. The new version focuses on refining features and adding minor features that will make dictation tasks simpler. A big feature addition is support for dictation in Microsoft Word 2011, which also allows users to seamlessly mix typing and dictation. Also new is the ability to use the iPhone as an input microphone for Dragon Dictate using the Dragon Remote Microphone app that was recently released for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Also new are Facebook and Twitter commands which will allow users to easily post tweets or create a status update in Facebook by saying “Tweet [speak text]” and “Post to Facebook [speak] text” or a similar command. As Peter Mahoney of Nuance explains, they heard requests for “more flexibility” and responded with more formatting controls which allow users to have more control over how data such as dates are formatted and how abbreviations are used. Users can also delete entries from the Dragon dictionary if it conflicts with other words and there is now a dedicated numbers mode which only dictates numbers and commands – helpful for database entry.
The Dragon Dictate 2.5 update is free for all users of the Dragon Dictate 2.0 version, whilst new users can purchase the new version now for $179.99. Jump the break for Nuance’s full press release.
BURLINGTON, Mass., – July 25, 2011 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a provider of speech solutions, today unveiled Dragon Dictate for Mac 2.5, a new release of the world’s best-selling speech recognition software for the Mac. Building on the improved accuracy, faster performance, and powerful new voice commands introduced in Dragon Dictate for Mac 2.0, Dragon Dictate for Mac 2.5 adds new features that make it easier to create documents, send emails, surf the Web, share social status and interact with many Mac applications. For the first time, Dragon Dictate users can combine dictation and voice commands with mouse and keyboard entry within Microsoft Word 2011, making it easier to create and edit documents.
Dragon Dictate 2.5 also takes advantage of the recently-introduced 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 devices in use today, and transforms the device into a wireless microphone that easily captures dictation and controls applications on your Mac (or PC).
Check out Dragon Dictate 2.5 and the new Dragon Remote Mic App here.
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, which allows users to speak text for SMS text messages, emails, social media updates and more. With amazing accuracy and speed, the Dragon Dictation mobile app for iOS have given millions of people a peek at the power of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
“We listened to feedback from our Mac-based Dragon customers, and heard a resounding request 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 Dictate 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 – like the ability to mix talking and typing in Word, added flexibility with microphones via the new Dragon Remote Mic App, and the ability to share social status.”
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 Dictate 2.5, including:
- Full Control in More Applications – Dragon Dictate 2.5 allows users to seamlessly combine dictation with manual input from the mouse and keyboard while working with Microsoft Word 2011. This ability to “mix talking and typing” within Microsoft Word was the most requested product enhancement from Dragon Dictate customers. In addition, Dragon Dictate 2.5 offers built-in voice commands for Microsoft Word 2011 to format text, insert tables and graphics, and control many menu items by voice. Dragon Dictate 2.5 also works with other popular Mac applications: Apple’s Pages, Mail, TextEdit, iChat, Keynote, iCal, Safari, and more.
- New Dragon Remote Mic App for iPhone – Turn your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a wireless microphone with the newDragon Remote Mic App. If you want to free yourself from your corded headset, now you can use a device that you may already have.
- Enhanced Commands and Social Features – Dragon Dictate includes built-in commands for many applications, including Apple Mail, Safari, TextEdit, iCal & iChat, In addition, Dragon Dictate collapses common multi-step tasks on the Mac into direct voice commands to search for files, post an update to Facebook or Twitter, search the Web for information, and more. Dragon Dictate 2.5 includes more 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]”
- “Search Google for hula dancing lessons”
- “Search Bing for wedding dress repair”
- “Search Yahoo for gondola rentals”
- “Search Mail for RSVP”
- “Search Mac for history term paper”
- Getting Started with Dragon is Faster and Easier – Dragon Dictate 2.0 made it easier than ever to upgrade your software by automatically detecting existing user data and setting up a new and improved Profile with each upgrade. Dragon Dictate 2.5 includes more updates to the Voice Training component of user profile creation, and introduces new additional training text to help get the best recognition accuracy possible.
- Improved Formatting Control – With Dragon Dictate 2.5, new formatting options make it easier to control the appearance of certain words and numbers. Users have greater control over the way certain data is formatted. Individual preferences can be set for dates and time, numbers and units of measure, addresses, abbreviations, and more. In addition, with a new Numbers Mode, Dragon Dictate 2.5 can recognize everything it hears as a number or as a command, helping to boost recognition accuracy even further.
- Improved User Interface – With the new Auto Sleep Microphone feature in Dragon Dictate 2.5, if the microphone is on but does not receive input after one minute, it will automatically go into Sleep mode. Users can set personal preference for the time allotted for the Auto Sleep microphone functionality.
- Improved Editing Control – Dragon Dictate 2.0 included new editing commands to make it easy to select and delete text, insert new text, capitalize text, and more. Proofreading capabilities were added to Dragon Dictate 2.0 to leverage Text-to-Speech read-back for reviewing dictations. Dragon Dictate 2.0 even added a feature to enable users to put punctuation around words or groups of words with simple voice commands.
“The new features and improved performance of Dragon Dictate 2.5 represent an important step forward towards finally allowing dictation to become a serious alternative even to those that are proficient in speed typing,” said Professor Michael Wolf, University of the Arts, Berlin. “Among one of the most important advances in this version is the ability to format dates, times and other numerals, as well as abbreviations and much more. The number of times that one needs to resort to the keyboard, even when dictating technical material, is rapidly approaching zero.”
Dragon Dictate for Mac 2.5 Mac is available immediately starting at $179.99 through Nuance’s Web site as well as its global network of reseller partners, software retailers and professional sales organizations. Dragon Dictate 2.5 is a free upgrade for current Dragon Dictate 2.0 users. For additional information on features, editions, pricing and volume licensing programs, please visit http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-product/dragon-for-mac/dictate-2-5-features/index.htm.
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 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 also offers several Dragon Mobile Apps – including Dragon Dictation, Dragon Go!, Dragon for E-mail and FlexT9 – for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and select BlackBerry and Android devices. And automotive manufacturers can even harness the power of Dragon to allow drivers to access dynamic real-time information and services by voice – right in their cars.
Nuance Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of speech and imaging 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. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.
