Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Premium speech recognition software ignites new levels of personal productivity and convenience by enabling you to interact with your PC by voice. Say words and they appear on your computer screen — three times faster than typing — with up to 99% accuracy. Dragon Anywhere professional-grade mobile dictation for iOS and Android. Create, edit and format documents - of any length - and share them easily by email or popular cloud services directly from.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Home speech recognition software ignites new levels of creativity and convenience by letting you interact with your PC using your voice. Dragon recognizes what you say and how you say it so you can turn talk into text and enjoy using your voice to command your PC and applications. Say words and they appear on your screen — three times faster than typing. Use your favorite applications to dictate documents, send email, search the Web, or network with friends and family. Speak simple voice commands to launch applications, select menu items, “press” keys, save files, or switch from one window to another. Dragon 12 Home makes working on your PC for home or school easier and more enjoyable than ever before.
IGNITE MORE FUN AT YOUR PC
Dragon 12 Home lets you say words and watch them appear on your computer screen. It’s easy to install and fun to use, making even mundane PC tasks a lot more enjoyable. It changes the way you interact with your PC for the better so you can get through your “to-do” list faster than ever before.
Dragon 12 Home lets you say words and watch them appear on your computer screen. It’s easy to install and fun to use, making even mundane PC tasks a lot more enjoyable. It changes the way you interact with your PC for the better so you can get through your “to-do” list faster than ever before.
IGNITE CREATIVITY BY CAPTURING YOUR SPOKEN THOUGHTS
Transform your ideas into text at the speed of thought; don’t let typing, spelling or fear of the blank page slow you down. Simply speak and Dragon captures your thoughts so you’ll never lose track of another great idea. Capture your thoughts quickly and completely, without having to keep your eyes fixed on the screen or keyboard. When it’s time to edit and revise your documents, use Dragon’s commands to breeze through the process. Dragon can even adapt its format rules by detecting your format corrections – abbreviations, numbers, and more — so your dictated text looks the way you want it to every time.
Transform your ideas into text at the speed of thought; don’t let typing, spelling or fear of the blank page slow you down. Simply speak and Dragon captures your thoughts so you’ll never lose track of another great idea. Capture your thoughts quickly and completely, without having to keep your eyes fixed on the screen or keyboard. When it’s time to edit and revise your documents, use Dragon’s commands to breeze through the process. Dragon can even adapt its format rules by detecting your format corrections – abbreviations, numbers, and more — so your dictated text looks the way you want it to every time.
IGNITE PRODUCTIVITY BY TURNING TALK INTO TEXT
Turn talk into text — three times faster than typing — with up to 99% recognition accuracy right out of the box. Dictate and edit documents, email and instant messages, Facebook and Twitter posts, and more. Dragon 12 Home adapts to your voice and the words you use to deliver better recognition results over time. You can even personalize Dragon with acronyms, proper names and other unique phrases that you frequently use.
Turn talk into text — three times faster than typing — with up to 99% recognition accuracy right out of the box. Dictate and edit documents, email and instant messages, Facebook and Twitter posts, and more. Dragon 12 Home adapts to your voice and the words you use to deliver better recognition results over time. You can even personalize Dragon with acronyms, proper names and other unique phrases that you frequently use.
IGNITE CONVENIENCE BY USING YOUR FAVORITE APPLICATIONS
In addition to DragonPad, the built-in text editor, you can use Dragon 12 Home with many of your favorite Windows applications. Dictate documents in Microsoft® Word, Corel® WordPerfect®, or OpenOffice™ Writer send email in Microsoft Outlook® or Windows LiveMail, search the Web using Internet Explorer® or Mozilla® Firefox® or Google Chrome™, post to Facebook or Twitter, and more — all by voice. Dragon 12 Home even enhances the experience of using your voice with two of the most popular web-based email applications — Gmail and Hotmail — offering Full Text Control and commands for the most frequent actions in Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 10 or higher, and Google Chrome 16 or higher.
In addition to DragonPad, the built-in text editor, you can use Dragon 12 Home with many of your favorite Windows applications. Dictate documents in Microsoft® Word, Corel® WordPerfect®, or OpenOffice™ Writer send email in Microsoft Outlook® or Windows LiveMail, search the Web using Internet Explorer® or Mozilla® Firefox® or Google Chrome™, post to Facebook or Twitter, and more — all by voice. Dragon 12 Home even enhances the experience of using your voice with two of the most popular web-based email applications — Gmail and Hotmail — offering Full Text Control and commands for the most frequent actions in Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 10 or higher, and Google Chrome 16 or higher.
IGNITE SPEED WITH POWERFUL INTUITIVE VOICE COMMANDS
Dragon Voice Shortcuts™ collapse common multi-step tasks into direct voice commands you can use at any time, no matter which applications are currently active. For example, say: “Search the Web for licensed electricians in Brooklyn, New York” or “search Google for 87 divided by 12” and Dragon makes it happen. You can also say “open top site for Girl Scouts” and Dragon automatically opens the top-ranked page for these keywords. You can even use voice commands to create emails, schedule tasks and appointments, and search your computer faster than ever before.
Dragon Voice Shortcuts™ collapse common multi-step tasks into direct voice commands you can use at any time, no matter which applications are currently active. For example, say: “Search the Web for licensed electricians in Brooklyn, New York” or “search Google for 87 divided by 12” and Dragon makes it happen. You can also say “open top site for Girl Scouts” and Dragon automatically opens the top-ranked page for these keywords. You can even use voice commands to create emails, schedule tasks and appointments, and search your computer faster than ever before.
IGNITE COMFORT AND FREEDOM
With Dragon 12 Home, you can use your PC in a comfortable, ergonomic way without being tied to your keyboard and mouse. Launch applications, select menu items, “press” keys and switch from one window to another using simple voice commands. You can even use your compatible iOS or Android device as a wireless microphone for optimal convenience.
With Dragon 12 Home, you can use your PC in a comfortable, ergonomic way without being tied to your keyboard and mouse. Launch applications, select menu items, “press” keys and switch from one window to another using simple voice commands. You can even use your compatible iOS or Android device as a wireless microphone for optimal convenience.
IGNITE EASE OF USE RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX
Thanks to the new interactive tutorial’s simulations, you can learn and practice good dictation, correction and editing habits so that you can create text efficiently within just a few minutes. The Dragon Help system contains a Tip of the Day window and other easy ways for you to quickly learn what interests you. The Dragon Sidebar puts important voice commands and tips in one convenient desktop location. And on-screen help means information is always available when you need it.
Thanks to the new interactive tutorial’s simulations, you can learn and practice good dictation, correction and editing habits so that you can create text efficiently within just a few minutes. The Dragon Help system contains a Tip of the Day window and other easy ways for you to quickly learn what interests you. The Dragon Sidebar puts important voice commands and tips in one convenient desktop location. And on-screen help means information is always available when you need it.
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Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 12
When Gene Roddenberry first came up with Star Trek in 1964, having the ship's computer understand natural speech was an obvious choice—after all, the series was about the far future. Teleporting isn't quite here yet, but speech recognition very much is. Dragon NaturallySpeaking, now in version 12 ($200, buy only), is one of the veteran products in this category. Though it's pricey, it remains the best speech-to-text program for Windows.
$200 is a good-sized chunk of change, especially for a program that doesn't have a trial version. What's more, productively using speech recognition requires more than just software: You need a decent microphone, a quiet environment where nobody minds you talking to yourself, and a different state of mind than when composing text using a keyboard. The good news is that if you're just curious about speech recognition and want to try it out, it's probably built into your system: Starting with Windows Vista, every version of Windows includes a speech recognition feature. This also means Dragon faces stiff competition: $200 with no trial, vs. a free option that's already installed on your computer.
To compare the two, I took a paragraph from the Wikipedia entry about Alice in Wonderland and tried dictating it using both products. It wasn't a very scientific experiment, but I did use the same text, computer, microphone, and environment. Dragon's rendition was noticeably better, but both results were far from perfect, mainly because the paragraph contained several proper names. Still, the results indicate that Windows speech recognition is definitely usable, especially if you just want to evaluate if speech recognition makes your work any faster or easier.
The added value Dragon offers over Windows speech recognition comes in two forms: Quality of recognition, and extra features. Disregarding the single-paragraph test, I found Dragon's recognition excellent, especially for general prose. I was able to dictate a lengthy email without having to correct many errors, using my natural voice and without having to enunciate or speak any differently than I would to another person. In other words, Dragon's core functionality feels mature and field-tested, and it does work.
It's hard to quantify, but it does feel a bit faster and more accurate than the previous version, NaturallySpeaking 11.5. Even when Dragon misunderstood my speech, the correction alternatives it offered were usually accurate and often included what I was actually trying to say (and when they didn't, I could teach Dragon new words).
The other part of the added value equation, extra features, is less even. Some are fantastic, like the ability to feed Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium with an audio file and have it transcribe the text. This lets me record audio using my smartphone when I'm away the computer or out of the house, and delivers excellent results. Other features aren't as polished: There's no obvious way to switch between two USB microphones (like a webcam and a headset) without re-calibrating the microphone.
Dragon now supports a Remote Microphone app for Android and iOS, letting you use your smartphone as a wireless microphone for live dictation. To configure the Android app, you can scan a QR code—but in my case, the QR code shown by Dragon contained incorrect information about my computer's IP address, making it impossible for the Android app to connect with the desktop app (Dragon picked a virtual network adaptor rather than the real one). Fortunately, you can also configure the Android app manually, which I did.
The Android app worked well with Dragon as long as my phone's display was switched on, but the moment I switched it off, it stopped working (even though the phone was still connected to my network even with the display off).
A better new feature for Dragon 12 is Webmail integration: Dragon 12 comes with browser extensions that make it possible to work with Gmail and Hotmail. I tested it with Gmail and it worked well, letting me pick a recipient, specify the subject, and dictate the email. I also liked that it doesn't let you actually send the email using only your voice, which is great for preventing accidental sending.
Also new in Dragon 12 is a 'getting started' tutorial providing a brief overview of Dragon's capabilities and commands. It's much shorter than the Windows speech recognition tutorial, but it's a welcome addition for bringing newcomers up to speed and showing how exciting speech recognition can be.
NaturallySpeaking includes numerous features other than dictation. You can format text, launch applications, search the Web, and more. Many of these features are indispensable for users with accessibility needs, and it's great to see them built into the main version of Dragon rather than into a specialized product.
You don't have to use these advanced features to benefit from Dragon, though: If speech recognition is a good fit for your environment and workflow, Dragon's excellent dictation feature alone makes it a good investment.
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Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 12
If dictating to your computer sounds like an appealing idea, try Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium. is the de facto standard for Windows.Pros
- Can transcribe audio from files
- Works with Gmail and Hotmail
Cons
- No trial version
- Mobile companion app not always reliable