In a recent Reddit AmA, Swype VP Aaron Sheedy answered a question regarding whether or not the company “had any contact with Apple,” and whether or not there were discussions “to see if they might have been interested in licensing” Swype’s keyboard technology. Sheedy was rather vague, and simply said that they have indeed “chatted with them.”

In a follow-up question asking Sheedy “as to why that hasn’t happened yet” (regarding iOS integration with Swype), Sheedy glaringly dodged the question, and that particular thread ended there. This may hint that while Swype and Apple have been in contact with each other, things still may be in the mulling stages, where both sides are quite ready to lay out any details yet.

However, it could also be Sheedy’s way of saying that while the two companies conversed about the idea to include Swype integration in iOS, nothing really came out of it, with Apple having no plans to include the keyboard tech in their software. Either way, things are still a bit of a mystery, but it’s interesting, nonetheless, that Apple and Swype were in talks.

[via 9to5Mac]

In addition to the limited-time special pricing, Nuance is also offering a free 30-day trial, giving those who’ve never used it before a chance to find out what it’s all about. The big news aside, users will find a total of 13 keyboard designs, with two new ones being added: Holo and Artic. Living Language Dialect support has also been expanded, gaining support for more than 20 dialects. Australian users, for example, will enjoy auto-loaded words like brekky.

For Dragon Mobile Assistant, a simple method has been added that allows users to pull up the personal mobile assistant by dragging their finger between the Swype button and Dragon flame. And it’s worth noting that Swype is no longer in beta, but Nuance advises that users who want to remain in the beta program for when new features are developed can do so by hitting up Swype’s Beta page.

Nuance Mobile’s Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Thompson said, “Swype was a game changer when first unveiled, and ever since, it has continued to set the bar for intuitive and intelligent keyboard innovation … Based on the incredible success of our beta program and our vocal customers, we decided to extend the power of Swype to more Android users through Google Play. Android users deserve the best keyboard – settling for an alternative is no longer necessary.”

[via Engadget]

Because the Voice Ad is showing up on a mobile device, Nuance can offer more granular control over when, and where, it’s visible. That can include GPS positioning, so that advertisers know when you’re near, say, a store where you can buy their product. Nuance also uses automatic volume and microphone sensitivity, so that the ad still works even in areas of high background noise.

Nuance’s example is somewhat basic: the company has created a Magic 8 Ball app which tags on an advert for deodorant at the end. At the moment, it all feels a little stilted and artificial, though the speech recognition works well.

Nuance Voice Ads demo:

We’re probably still some way off from having Siri and other spoken assistant systems throw in a sales pitch for popcorn when they help us find the nearest movie theater, though Nuance says that there’s already significant interest from ad networks in the Voice Ads technology. It’s unclear when we can expect the first Voice Ads to turn up in the wild.

Panasonic has announced that its new 2013 lineup Smart TVs can now listen and speak using the Nuance Dragon TV platform. Using Dragon TV, viewers can use their voice to find content, search the web, control volume, and perform other interactions with the TV. The Dragon TV platform also features a text-to-speech function.

This function allows television content and options on the screen to be read aloud. That should make using the TV much easier for people who have limited vision or difficulty reading. The Dragon TV platform is a voice and natural language understanding platform designed specifically for the smart TV environment. The Dragon TV platform is also available for set top box OEMs and service operators.

The platform lets users do things like change the TV channel using their voice, find a favorite movie using voice search, or locate programs or movies by a specific actor and surf the web all using voice commands. Having used Nuance software exclusively on my computer for years, I can say that typically there are a few caveats to using Dragon software. Namely, the software does routinely have problems understanding some spoken commands and makes some irritating word substitutions regularly. However, that really depends on the environment, your voice, and any accent present.

[via Panasonic]

Headlining the list of new features includes a 20% improvement to the accuracy of the voice recognition, as well as faster overall performance. NaturallySpeaking 12 includes some pretty neat features, like Smart Format Rules, that increases the accuracy of formatting sentences and structure based on the user’s input for punctuation and such.

Current users of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 will automatically get a free software update through a digital download notification, or can head to “Check for Updates” in the Help tab of the DragonBar. As for new customers, the update is ready for ordering, with more languages becoming available over the next couple of weeks.

Nuance’s products may not seems mainstream, but the company’s technology is used by Apple for their Siri voice recognition system, as well as the voice dictation feature in OS X Mountain Lion. If you don’t have either, NaturallySpeaking 12 is a good choice for dictation. You can even hook up your Android phone to use as a microphone over your home WiFi.

The application has always featured the ability to act as an assistant for Android users allowing them to do things such as get directions and more using their voice and the app has a number of other features. One of the new features is Location Sharing and Friend Finder. These features allow users to do things like say, “Tell John where I am.”

The application will then send your contact a text with a link to a map showing your specific location. You can also ask the application “where’s John.” If John gives permission, Dragon will send you a map with his specific location noted. Another new feature is called Calendar Call Assist.

The application will automatically dial the user into any call set in the calendar as an appointment. That means if you have a conference call set up, the application will automatically ask beforehand if you want to dial in to the call. The app will then initiate the phone application and start dialing for you. The new update also allows the application to read incoming text messages aloud and gives you the ability to respond by dictating your message and delivering it for you. The application sports Android 2.3 and higher and can be downloaded as a beta right now.

[via Nuance]

The exact length of the partnership is unknown, with the announcement simply stating that it is a “multi-year” agreement. Nuance will bring its voice software to ZTE’s portfolio of upcoming handsets starting this year. The voice features will encompass 25 languages, although it didn’t state which languages those are.

There’s not much info in terms of what apps will be gaining Nuance’s voice functionality features, with the exception of one: Car Mode. This app is said to include voice control via Nuance and allow users to do hands-free activities, such as making calls and sending texts. The app is optimized to work in the loud environment of a car, and does not require any sort of broadband connection.

It also offers some other features that could arguably be utilized just as effectively outside of the vehicle as during a trip. Do No Disturb mode is present, which allows the driver to disable incoming calls and notifications until the drive is over. The app can be awoken hands-free with voice commands, and will provide verbal notifications about texts and incoming calls.

[via Android Community]

The newly updated app now supports Android 2.3 and higher. The updated app also allows people to do even more with their phone using the voice. The app now allows users to launch and play music, set alarms, and open apps using their voice.

The app uses Nuance’s natural language understanding and directed search capability to allow Natural Language Commands to do specific tasks on the phone without having to touch the screen. To wake the app users say “Hi Dragon.” After the app is awake and listening users can speak to send text messages, make calls, set appointments, and much more.

The updated features allow users to do things like say “Set the alarm to wake me at 6:30 AM.” If you want to listen to a specific artist in your playlist, you can say “I want to listen to Metallica” or any other band or artist in your playlist. You can also open apps by saying “Open Angry Birds” or whatever other app you want. The updated app is available for download on the Google Play store right now.

There’s also the ability to check the weather from a location simply by asking for it, to look up local businesses and landmarks, and to find places to eat and make reservations there. Dragon Mobile Assistant can also use the same website search tools as in Dragon Go!, querying information across more then 200 sites.

A “Driver Mode” adds complete hands-off control to the app; you can wake it by saying “Hi Dragon” and have voice prompts to guide you through the different levels of functionality. Text-to-speech also reads out incoming messages.

You’ll need an Android 4.0 device or above to use Dragon Mobile Assistant, and currently the app is only available in the US. Nuance says it will be broadening availability and adding functionality before the end of 2012.

Apple obviously brought its own challenge to speech recognition systems in the latest OS X release, with Mountain Lion supporting native transcription. However, Apple’s implementation is server-based, and so Macs require a data connection in order to process voice commands and dictation.

In contrast, Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 is self-contained, as well as including support throughout Mountain Lion, so there’s no need to be online. There’s integrated commands for Notes and Reminders, along with better understanding of formatting such as abbreviations and numbers; Nuance has also tweaked the way corrections are made, so as to streamline the process and take less time away from actual dictation.

If you’re working from a recorded audio file, meanwhile, you can load a .wav, .m4a, .m4v, .mp4, .aif, or .aiff recording and – as long as it’s a single person speaking – have it automatically transcribed. There’s also support for 16kHz wideband Bluetooth microphones for improved wireless recordings, and which – when automatically recognized by the app – bypasses the initial voice training program altogether. If you have either an iOS device or an Android phone, you can now use the Nuance Remote Microphone App too.

Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 is up for preorder now, priced at $199.99. Those already using Macspeech Dictate or Dragon Dictate can save $50 as an upgrade; there’ll also be bundles with a compatible Bluetooth headset. Digital deliveries are expected to begin September 13, with in-store shipments from September 24.

Nina is apparently the first voice assistant service that combines voice recognition with biometrics, enabling services and companies to implement the solution and potentially serve up information or allow customers to pay bills without ever requiring a password. In Nuance’s examples, users could interact with their banks to help find the nearest ATM, or ask more complex queries regarding household insurance policies.

One banking institution is especially confident in the new functionality provided by Nina, with USAA, a bank that serves the US military and veterans, announcing a partnership with Nuance that will see the new technology used in its mobile banking app. A pilot app is expected to be unveiled in August for certain members before full fledged functionality rolls out to all USAA members next year.

Anyone else who wants to make use of Nina can do so with the release of the SDK today. It will be available in US, UK, and Australian English, and Nuance says that more languages will be coming in the future.

Nuance claims that NaturallySpeaking is 20% more accurate than version 11 straight of the box, and as usual, the more you use the service the more it attunes itself to your voice, which will also increase accuracy. Nuance has added Smart Format Rules to version 12, with the voice engine adapting to the way a user presents formatting and punctuation. NaturallySpeaking still prompts users to tune the engine using their own documents and emails as well.

Email junkies will be pleased to hear that Gmail and Hotmail support are fully onboard, so actions and commands from both services can be activated simply by speaking. The support extends to Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 12 and up, and Chrome 16 and higher. Interestingly, you don’t need a swanky microphone for your PC either. Nuance has extended its Microphone app to Android, so you can use your smartphone as a microphone that connects to your PC over your local wireless network.

Pre-orders for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 begin today, with the price set at $99.99. The digital version of the software will be available to download on August 3rd, while all other versions will start shipping out on August 13th.

“She’s smart, intuitive, flexible” Nuance promises, “Nina just gets you.” Both iPhone and Android devices are shown, suggesting Nina will be cross-platform, and the enterprise focus is clear: ”She’s all business” Nuance insists, “Your business.”

Nuance may not be a household name – though their Dragon range of dictation software for PC and Mac is a mainstay of voice recognition systems – but the company’s technology is far-reaching. Apple’s Siri uses Nuance’s speech recognition, as does the new Dictation feature in OS X Mountain Lion, though of course heavily rebranded. Meanwhile, Google Now is based on a homegrown speech database initially helmed by Nuance co-founder Mike Cohen (and dressed up with various speech-centric acquisitions along the way).

Though the target markets are different, then, Nina is likely to be met with some degree of familiarity or recognition when it arrives this summer. Full details are in short supply, but we’re guessing Nuance will offer a white-label natural speech recognition system for companies looking to automate their customer services.

[via Stefan Constantine]

If you don’t know what Dragon Drive! Messaging is, you can probably take a guess. Users will be able to talk as normal and have the system transcribe messages and emails. That means hands will remain on the wheel and eyes on the road, reducing distractions and hopefully accidents as a result. There are some finer controls too, so you can speak certain commands to add spacing or shift paragraphs in emails, as well as adding correct punctuation.

The service will be free for the first 60 days, and after that you’ll have to pay Nuance a yearly subscription fee. Still, there’s support for six languages, which includes US and UK English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. BMW also has some of its own voice commands, like calling contacts or pulling up turn-by-turn navigation.

The Dragon Drive platform will be fully integrated into cars, allowing users to use voice commands to control both the embedded and connected features of in-car systems. It will use 3G or 4G connections to access Nuance’s language servers to ensure accurate interpretation of user commands.

Dragon Drive is expected to arrive on new car models sometime this summer. However, the company hasn’t announced which new manufacturers they are working with or which car models will be receiving the new voice technology.

[via VentureBeat]

Not only that, but both companies are working to integrate navigation controls using voice recognition too. One day customers will be able to simply speak to change the channel or search for content. If Adam Sandler takes your fancy, you’d be able to say “Find comedies with Adam Sandler”, and have the relevant information show on the TV.

Rovi thinks the jump to voice is important, too: “Entertainment options will continue to grow. With it will be the complexity of finding and deciding what to watch. Consumers want easy to use and simple ways for discovering entertainment that doesn’t require a remote control with as many keys as a keyboard. Voice brings this capability.”

When will you be able to do all this for yourself? It’s not clear right now with no timeline given by either company, but the duo will be showing off the technology at The Cable Show 2012 in Boston, MA starting from today until May 23rd.

This sounds a lot like the Ford Sync system in most Ford vehicles. GMC says that the IntelliLink home screen can be configured by the driver with the icons they want. It has icons built-in for Pandora and Stitcher streaming via smartphones. The system should work pretty much like Ford Sync since it, and IntelliLink are powered by Nuance.

The voice control system also uses the Gracenote media database to provide album art and artist information. This also allows people to find content using nicknames such as “The Boss” and others. IntelliLink’s integration of Gracenote is the first to provide track data via Bluetooth streaming rather than having to have the device plugged into the USB port.

“Gracenote is typically limited to devices plugged in to the USB port,” he said. “With IntelliLink, we are the first company to run Bluetooth streaming audio through the Gracenote database to display album art for music players connected wirelessly.”

This application runs in a way very similar to Siri in its current form, allowing you to tap a microphone and speak on whatever comes to mind, it then deciphering what you want with its vast knowledge of the English language. While we’ve not done a massive amount of testing with the application at the moment, what we’ve seen thus far is very, very impressive. True Knowledge has licensed Nuance to bring forth not only an engine that can tell you where a local restaurant is — that being the most common thing to ask such an engine, of course — but questions on oddities as well.

It even knows such strange things as how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood – imagine that! What you’re getting here is another mobile application that tells you what you want to know when you ask it what you want to know. A simple concept, but one not easily executed to the level that we’re seeing here with Evi. It’ll cost you a buck, go get it now, it’s worth the dollar just to ask it questions like who drank your milkshake. [iTunes Link] or [Android Market Link] – the Android version is free!

[via TechCrunch]

Everyone appears to be high-fiving one another in both companies as they see this combination as a killer contribution to the future of smart devices on the whole. As Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nuance Mobile says:

“Inspired by the introduction of services such as Apple’s Siri and our own Dragon Go!, virtually every mobile and consumer electronics company on the planet is looking for ways to integrate natural, conversational voice interactions into their mobile products, applications, and services. By acquiring Vlingo, we are able to accelerate the pace of innovation to meet this demand.” – Thompson

What we’ve got to look forward to now is more than likely a solution similar to Siri on Android. Not that competitors haven’t been trying to do so since the launch of the iPhone 4S, because they certainly have, but herein lies perhaps the first real big-time effort that has a chance to make it a reality. Here’s to the future of voice assistance!

Scansoft’s UK TTS voice is known as “Daniel” and has been used in dozens of products and by multiple companies, including public transport stations, satnav voices and TV shows. The bundle of recordings was initially created by Briggs reading out around five thousand sentences, in an even and flat tone, which were then pulled apart into the individual phonics making up the words. Those phonics can then be repackaged to create words and sentences that Briggs never originally recorded.

Still, it seems Apple would prefer Siri to maintain an air of mystery; the company told Briggs that “we’re not about one person” when it initially contacted him, though has since gone quiet when the actor pointed out that there was no contract between them. In the US, Siri has a female voice, likely a result of there being a limited number of voice packs available since constructing them is time consuming and expensive.

“I love Apple’s products and I think Siri is a game-changer” Briggs concludes, pointing out that while the company isn’t paying him, he “got paid a decent sum by Scansoft” originally. Apple has frustrated owners of older iOS devices by limiting Siri functionality to the iPhone 4S, though that decision is likely partly based on hardware considerations.

Check out Siri’s performance in our full iPhone 4S review.

Since Apple acquired the Siri personal assistant voice command app, there have been plenty of reports that the company is working on integrating the Nuance speech recognition technology used in that service with iOS 5. The latest speculation seems pretty certain that the feature will be an exclusive for the next-gen iPhone and that it’s performance is snappy and accurate.

The rendered mockup video of the Assistant interface is based on details from sources reportedly familiar with its development. The feature is initiated by a long press of the home button, which will bring up an overlay that fades the background. A silver microphone icon appears with a purple highlight that circles around the button to indicate that the system is ready to accept voice commands.

It’ll be interesting to see how accurate this mockup is when the real iOS 5 Assistant gets unveiled alongside the iPhone 5 next Tuesday, October 4. Keep it here for the details from our live blog.

That’s more than anyone on the SlashGear team can handle, which officially makes us less capable than a car; among the choices are both US and UK English, German, French and Italian. BMW’s ConnectedDrive system can access Facebook and Twitter, reading out new updates and messages, as well as allow you to subscribe to various RSS feeds and have new content read out to you.

Triggered by the Play button, ConnectedDrive is being billed as both a safety and entertainment system. It’ll hook into your iPhone Calendar, too, calling out your appointments for the day, week and month; while your iPhone is connected, the iDrive system can also stream internet radio.

Apple is expected to use similar text-to-speech (and speech-to-text) technology from Nuance in iOS 5, as part of the well-rumored iOS Assistant. Expected to debut on the iPhone 5, itself tipped to launch imminently, this will allow users to make spoken commands including navigation requests, new messages, media playback and more.

The full change log, shared by BGR, suggests that users can register multiple iCloud accounts to a single iOS 5 device, while wireless synchronization – which allows you to avoid plugging in via USB and instead sync with iTunes over WiFi – is now enabled to Windows users as well as Mac. There are also various bug-fixes and tweaks, with developers having reported issues from previous betas, though plenty of places where Apple is still doing work prior to the official release later in the year.

As for Apple Assistant, the company has gone to great extents to keep it from being spotted by prying eyes. A new microphone button has been added next to the spacebar, 9 to 5 Mac‘s source showed them, which when clicked prompts a larger microphone icon overlay. According to MacRumors, Apple’s attempts to disguise Assistant included codenaming the microphone button “forward delete key” and the new keyboard layout” as a Dvorak variant.

The functionality is also not yet active, perhaps because Apple is yet to secure the final deal believed to be in negotiation with Nuance, and as such the server-side processing is unlikely to be ready. Sources have suggested that Assistant support is only initially intended for the smaller iOS devices, iPhone and iPod touch, though iPad support is a possibility.

If you have a valid developer account, you can download iOS 5 beta 5 from Apple.

Lots of rumors about a Nuance-Apple partnership were flying around before WWDC, but nothing was mentioned during the keynote. It seems that Apple and Nuance had been working on a deal for quite some time, it just wasn’t ready in time for the WWDC. These screenshots are all we have to go on at the moment, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

Speech recognition technology has been around for years, but it has also been fraught with problems every step of the way. Anyone that has tried speech recognition software has probably experienced a wide range of results while using it, everything from the occasional humorous typo, to the output resulting in compete gibberish. Do you think speech recognition has improved enough for iOS integration, or do you think it is best left in science fiction for the time being?

[via Macrumors]

The picture surfaced on GadgetsDNA, and shows two holes in the back of the case, one for the camera and one for…we’re not sure. Also, it seems to show a display that extends to the edge of the case with a thinner bezel. There has been evidence that has surfaced that Apple is planning a significant reworking of the iPhone with the iPhone 5, and other evidence that seems to indicate a more moderate update, maybe an iPhone 4S.

Here is what was posted on the Alibaba site:

1. 100% brand new high quality crystal case for iphone 5g.
2. Provides a comfortable grip, added protection against accidental drops.
3. Perfectly fits the iPhone 5g, easy to insert and remove.

And there is more to add to the iPhone 5 mystery. Patently Apple has pointed out a new patent application that shows one possible explanation for Apple’s interest in Nuance’s speech recognition technology. Text to speech.

The patent application points out the problems that would be solved by text to speech, including times that it is convenient to send a text message, either because you are in a very quiet or a very noisy environment, but the recipient can’t receive a text message because they are on a landline, or don’t have a text plan. In this case, the text message would be converted into speech and transmitted that way.

Admittedly, this technology might be further down the road, and may not be seen in this year’s update of the iPhone, whether it is 5 or 4S. Apple has many other possible uses for Nuance’s technology including voice for search, phone navigation, and dictation for email/sms messages.

Stay tuned!

[via Patently Apple, via GadgetsDNA]

With this move, Nuance is looking to expand another aspect of its business, which is document imaging. Nuance also has a huge healthcare business, something Apple isn’t interested in. According to obert Weideman, senior vice president and general manager of the Nuance Document Imaging Division, “Equitrac delivers proven value in healthcare, financial, legal and educational organizations, and provides secure print capabilities to desktop and mobile global office workers. This complements Nuance’s strengths in mobile and office productivity, and aligns well to Nuance’s key verticals, especially healthcare.”

So Nuance has made it clear that they are staying independent, and are growing other areas of their business in addition to the speech recognition side. It will be interesting to watch what, if any, deal happens between Nuance and Apple in the near future. Apple and iOS could benefit from Nuance’s expertise.

Press release:

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced an agreement under which Nuance will acquire Equitrac Corporation, a leading provider of intelligent print management and cost recovery software. Equitrac solutions have been adopted by more than 25,000 organizations worldwide to implement secure and managed printing for enterprise, global and mobile workforces.

The acquisition expands Nuance’s document imaging portfolio, adding Equitrac’s market-leading print management products to Nuance eCopy ShareScan® scanning and workflow solutions, and to Nuance OmniPage, PaperPort and PDF Converter Professional desktop applications. The addition of Equitrac also strengthens Nuance’s global channel partnerships with multifunction printer (MFP) vendors, including Canon, Xerox, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and HP – each of whom currently sell both Equitrac print management and Nuance eCopy scanning solutions through their dealers or as part of their Managed Print Services (MPS) portfolios.

“Equitrac expands our ability to provide our customers and MFP partners with solutions that deliver even higher levels of cost savings and office productivity,” said Robert Weideman, senior vice president and general manager of the Nuance Document Imaging Division. “Equitrac delivers proven value in healthcare, financial, legal and educational organizations, and provides secure print capabilities to desktop and mobile global office workers. This complements Nuance’s strengths in mobile and office productivity, and aligns well to Nuance’s key verticals, especially healthcare.”

Equitrac increases the productivity and document security of office workers with the Follow-You® printing solution. Users print documents from their desktop as usual, then use card-swipe or log-in identification at a networked MFP to view and select their documents for on-demand printing. No matter where they go in their organization – an MFP around the corner from their office or at office locations across the globe – the user’s personalized on-demand document selections are instantly available from the MFP touch-screen. In a hospital setting for example, care providers can securely access and print standardized forms or specific patient reports from any MFP or printer on the network – a nurse’s station, physician’s office or emergency room.

“There’s a long history of customers selecting Equitrac as their MFP print management solution and Nuance eCopy as their MFP scanning solution. From day one, the combination of Nuance and Equitrac delivers the best of scanning and best of print management to our customers and partners worldwide,” said Michael Rich, president and CEO, Equitrac Corporation. “Even better, Nuance’s leadership in speech recognition, healthcare solutions and intelligent touch-screen interfaces provide a fertile ground for innovations that promise to deliver breakthrough increases in cost savings and office productivity.”

The combination of Nuance and Equitrac results in:

Products that Increase Cost Savings and Office Productivity – Nuance eCopy and Equitrac solutions are both integrated with the touch-screens of MFP devices, and are leading solutions for automating and optimizing document processes within organizations of every size. Customers need and want both secure print and scanning solutions; an estimated 25 percent of Nuance eCopy installations already have print management software – many of them from Equitrac. In addition to providing an integrated offering, Nuance will continue to offer eCopy and Equitrac as standalone products that support both print and scan partners, such as NTware, NSi, Omtool, GlobalScan and SafeCom.

Strengthening of Global OEM Partnerships – Nuance has strong revenue-based channel relationships with Brother, Canon, HP, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Visioneer, Xerox and more. Equitrac has strategic ties with HP, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, and Xerox – and expanding relationships with Canon, Fuji-Xerox, Lexmark, Samsung and more. The combination of Nuance and Equitrac will provide the OEM community with the largest and most experienced team dedicated to providing MFP partner sales, professional services, support and customer service worldwide.

Unmatched Application Connectivity – Nuance and Equitrac are leaders in connecting MFPs to back-end enterprise applications. Nuance eCopy connects to over 200 applications, including content management, database and financial software. Equitrac connects to over 50 cost recovery, auditing and financial systems, expanding Nuance’s capabilities to include support for important enterprise applications such as SAP and others.

Expanded Solutions for Key Verticals – Equitrac has significant penetration in healthcare, finance, legal, government and educational vertical markets, providing a strong complement to Nuance’s strong position in finance, legal, education, government and especially healthcare, where Nuance solutions are used in over 4,000 hospitals and by over 100,000 care providers.

Innovation in Managed Print Services

As the office equipment industry continues the migration to a services-led delivery model for printing and document processing, Equitrac and Nuance document imaging solutions are important components of ensuring OEM success in the MPS market. The integration of Equitrac with Nuance eCopy will provide innovative, integrated, cross-platform MFP-based document solutions to deliver on the promise cost reductions that will drive the adoption of MPS solutions across enterprises.

Under the terms of the agreement, consideration for the transaction is $157 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of Nuance’s fiscal year 2011, ending September 30, 2011. Nuance expects the acquisition in fiscal 2012 to add between $58 million and $60 million in non-GAAP revenue; $27 million and $29 million in GAAP revenue after adjusting revenue lost to purchase accounting; non-GAAP earnings between $0.04 and $0.05; and a GAAP loss between $(0.05) and $(0.06). See “Discussion of non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for further information.

About Equitrac Corporation

Equitrac Corporation is the global leader of intelligent print management and cost recovery software solutions for the corporate, legal, education, healthcare and financial services markets. Equitrac’s solutions are mission critical to all enterprises that are looking to more effectively manage their printing environments, reduce printing costs, increase security and lessen their environmental impact. The company is backed by an unmatched R&D program and is a preferred technology partner with all leading providers of multifunction devices. Equitrac is has been in business for 30 years and has more than 25,000 customers in 70 countries. Equitrac’s solutions are deployed in Global 500 companies, AMLAW 200 legal firms, and leading colleges, universities and school districts. For more information, visit www.Equitrac.com.

Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) 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.

[via Nuance]

Apple has some catching up to do in the voice recognition area, which Android has done much better with. Better voice recognition in the next version of iOS would be a big plus for Apple, and something it wants to aim for. Apple bought Siri last year, which is a company that focused on voice-activated search. Siri’s service are built on Nuance’s technology. Last year, Apple bought Suri, a company focused on voice-activated search. The start-up’s services are built on technology from Nuance.

What would you like to see voice recognition-wise in iOS?

[via New York Times]

Ford has expanded Sync’s vocabulary from three to 19 languages and has rolled Sync out globally. The new languages will debut first in Europe in 2012 with the Focus. Sync is still powered by Nuance and the update allows compatibility with more languages than any other system in the world.

Sync can recognize 10,000 voice commands in any of the 19 supported languages and promises to cope with accents, vocabulary, and local dialects. The current system can have issues with accents at times. Abbreviations for text messaging are also now understood by the system in foreign languages.

“Watson’s ability to analyze the meaning and context of human language, and quickly process information to find precise answers can assist decision makers, such as physicians and nurses, unlock important knowledge and facts buried within huge volumes of information, and offer answers they may not have considered to help validate their own ideas or hypotheses.”

An example of how this might work is that a doctor considering a diagnosis could speak questions about the case into the system and then the system would rapidly search through all of the releated texts, reference materials, prior cases, journals, and medical literature, and deliver back to the doctor the most likely diagnosis and treatment options.

If this is effective, it could be a huge change in the way the medical industry operates. It kind of reminds us of the “computer” on Star Trek.

IBM and Nuance expect the first commercial offerings to be available in 18-24 months.

[via IBM]

The Golden-i is the result of several companies collaboration: Kopin came up with the initial idea and supplied the SVGA microdisplay, while Motorola put the whole thing together.  It’s based on a TI OMAP3 chipset, while Hillcrest Labs and Nuance had a hand in the motion-control and voice-recognition, respectively.  OS is Windows CE embedded with a custom UI on top, and the battery is good for up to 8hrs use (or, in other words, a full industrial work shift).  Connectivity includes Bluetooth 2.1, mini-USB and a microSD card slot, and the body of the PC is squeezed into the rear band section that’s specially designed to be comfortable even when wearing a hard-hat.

An adjustable speaker sits by your right ear, while the eyepiece is intended to fall just beneath your line of sight; Kopin have made two versions for those with left- or right-dominant eyes.  Focusing is controlled by a simple thumbwheel, and the eyepiece also houses the dual microphone array.  That’s important, since much of the interface is controlled by speech; from the main menu of icons, you merely speak which option you’d like – “photo gallery”, say – and the Golden-i takes you into it.  You can then select individual files, again by voice, and manipulate them with straightforward commands: zoom in, for instance.

Photo and document viewing is linked to motion-control, so moving your head around pans around the zoomed-in picture; alternatively you can lock it, again with a verbal command.  Accuracy was pretty much 100-percent, albeit in a relatively short trial; Kopin say they worked on Nuance’s voice-recognition systems to boost accuracy to around 98-percent.  Of course, you could always hook up a QWERTY keyboard (either by USB or Bluetooth) for more extensive text-entry.

The next-gen models, beyond this development device, will be less bulky and have more functionality.  Kopin say they’ve shaved a half-inch of thickness off the rear PC section, have a 1024 x 768 display that’s the same size as the SVGA panel, and that they’re putting in faster Bluetooth 3.0 too.  They’ve also been looking at potential peripherals, everything from a laser keyboard and wirelessly connected modem, to a Bluetooth pen packed with gyroscopes that allows you to virtually sign a document just by gesturing in mid-air.  There’ll also be a snap-on webcam, generally looking forward but detachable – and wireless – so you can direct it into enclosed spaces or turn it back on yourself for video conferencing.

Kopin’s target market is industrial users, such as engineers, warehouse managers and medical professionals, who need data access while simultaneously keeping their hands free.  An engineer repairing a server, for instance, could consult the technical manual to check up which wire was which, without having to reach for their laptop.  Broad availability isn’t for another year, but the company are offering this development version which comes with the open-source software (for user-customization; you could even put Android on it if you wanted to) and a Motorola ruggedized field-PDA right now.  With a data connection, you can remotely log into a server or PC and access it as if you were at your desk, all using speech-commands.

Would I actually wear a consumer version when they go on sale in – according to Kopin – a few years time?  At a trade show, despite the odd looks, yes, I reckon I would.  Attempting to navigate the MWC 2010 halls was a recipe for collisions, as 50-percent of the people at any one time tried to simultaneously rush to their next appointment and look at their cellphone.  When you start trying to throw in Twitter, responding to last-minute meeting room changes or tracking your schedule, all of a sudden the idea of a floating display you can quickly glance at without sustaining a glancing blow off the nearest pillar seems reasonably tempting.

Hopefully, by then the price will have dropped a little.  The development package costs around $5,500, and while Motorola – who will be distributing the Golden-i when it sees its full launch – haven’t confirmed retail pricing they’ve said it will be in-line with a ruggedized PDA, which are around $2,500 themselves.  Where it gets particularly exciting is when you start wondering how technologies like Texas Instrument’s gesture-recognition, also demonstrated this week, might fit in; Kopin admitted that augmented reality systems are also in the works, with the webcam tracking your hands and reacting accordingly.  Yes, I might look pretty ridiculous, but I think I could suspend my shame for that.

Kopin Golden-i wearable PC demo:

Ford will be integrating Nuance’s natural speech recognition technology in the Sync platform to allow the driver to control more aspects of the vehicle and entertainment system with their voice. The new system will let drivers enter addresses for the navigation system by speaking the directions. The entertainment system will be voice controlled letting the driver say the music genera and the radio will find the station.

The system will also interface with the Sirius Travel Link system to let the drive say things like “how much does gas cost” and get the answer. The system will be used in cars that Ford sells globally.

Nuance has announced a slick new app for the iPhone called Dragon Dictation that takes the speech recognition tech that works well on the PC and puts in on the iPhone. The result is an application that allows you to dictate your texts or emails rather than typing them out.

If the app works with Bluetooth devices or headphones with a mic this may well be the answer to the need for sending texts and emails on the road. It is sure to be faster than typing them out as well. If the iPhone app is anything like the PC software, it will stumble on technical terms and jargon, but should work well for the average user. The best news of all is that Nuance is offering the at no charge for a limited time. The NaturallySpeaking software can cost hundreds of dollars depending on the version so a free iPhone app is surprising.