Dragon Mobile Assistant beta for Android updated, lets your voice launch apps and music

Nuance updates its Dragon Mobile Assistant beta on Android, delivers expanded functionality and Gingerbread support

Nuance has refreshed its Dragon Mobile Assistant for Android to let you do more stuff using speech alone. The beta app now allows you to set alarms, launch apps and play music, in addition to its existing hands-free prowess that covers making calls, getting directions, updating your Twitter status and waking up your device from slumber using a "Hi Dragon" greeting. The voice-driven personal assistant, which hitherto worked only on ICS and up, also now supports devices running Android 2.3. (And no, you can't customize your phone's nickname. It has to be Dragon, not Snuffy.)

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Source: Google Play

2014 Ford Fiesta gets MyFord Touch, smarter Sync voice commands

2014 Ford Fiesta gets MyFord Touch with a bigger screen, simpler Sync voice commands

For all of Ford's emphasis on Sync, it's hard to deny that Fiesta drivers usually sit on the bottom rung of the automaker's technology ladder when they're denied MyFord Touch and the related perks of larger vehicles. Pick up the keys to a higher-spec 2014 Fiesta, however, and you'll be in for a treat. The compact will stuff a 6.5-inch touchscreen and MyFord Touch into the center stack, with a few software upgrades over what we've already seen in cars like the Focus and Fusion. The highlight is undoubtedly the more direct voice command system -- the Nuance-driven recognition no longer demands that we specify music categories or radio formats to start playing tunes. Bluetooth smartphone pairing and navigation by address should be streamlined at the same time. Motorists will have to wait until 2013 to reap the rewards, but it could be worth the wait to drive away with Ford's better electronics in an affordable ride.

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Source: TechCrunch

Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant launches on Android, but only on ICS for now

Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant launches on Android

Dragon Go! has been given the elbow, with the slightly more professional sounding Dragon Mobile Assistant taking its place. Nuance has expanded on its predecessor's verbal commands, with new functionality for maps (you'll be able to bark direction requests at the new app and it'll plan the route), alongside a hands-free wake-up feature activated by saying "Hi Dragon" -- we hope you have a high embarrassment threshold. Other Siri-esque features include weather updates and dictated SMS and email responses. The beta app can be downloaded below, although compatibility is limited to Android Ice Cream Sandwich and above for now. Nuance is promising more features and increased availability later this year.

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Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant launches on Android, but only on ICS for now originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nuance and Intel team on Dragon Assistant Beta for Ultrabooks, Dell XPS 13 to lead the charge

Dell XPS 13 review lead

Intel at CES promised a partnership with Nuance to give Ultrabooks a taste of ready-made voice recognition, and we're finally seeing the results at IDF in San Francisco through the launch of Nuance's Dragon Assistant Beta. As the name implies, this isn't just a voice dictation engine like that in Naturally Speaking: chatty users can delegate common tasks like playing music, reading social network updates and searching the web. The beta isn't immediately available as of this writing, but it should go live soon and will be a core part of of Ultrabook software bundles in the near future, starting with the Dell XPS 13 this fall. We're wondering why Intel is focusing its Dragon Assistant efforts solely on thin-and-lights -- the company still makes money from portlier PCs, after all -- but we won't mind as much given the simultaneous launch of a Perceptual Computing SDK 2013 Beta, which lets developers work Dragon recognition into their own apps. More details await after the break.

Continue reading Nuance and Intel team on Dragon Assistant Beta for Ultrabooks, Dell XPS 13 to lead the charge

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Nuance and Intel team on Dragon Assistant Beta for Ultrabooks, Dell XPS 13 to lead the charge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Voice assistant ‘Nina’ lets any app obey commands, makes speech your password

Voice assistant 'Nina' lets any app obey commands, makes speech your password

Voice recognition technology from Nuance is all over the place -- in everything from Smart TVs to Beemers. But today, in response to the growth of device-specific voice assistants like Siri and S-Voice, the company wants to take things down a different route: launching a mobile SDK for iOS and Android that any third-party app can employ. Baptized "Nina," the voice assistant won't only be able to understand instructions, but will also identify the speaker using vocal biometrics. That means Nina could potentially pay a bill, arrange a bank transfer, book a vacation or even interact with government services without ever requiring you to enter a password. The video after the break shows just how intimate things could get -- assuming you're able to find a spot where the two of you won't be overheard.

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Voice assistant 'Nina' lets any app obey commands, makes speech your password originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 06:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 voice recognition coming in August for $100, cares what you have to say

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Sick of talking to yourself? Get ready to ride the wild voice recognition dragon. Nuance announced this morning that the 12th version of its Dragon NaturallySpeaking software will start shipping the week of August 13th. The upgrade to the fire-breathing dictation app brings 100 new features, including faster performance, a 20-percent improvement in accuracy, better adaptation to user preferences, more integration with Gmail and Hotmail and extended support for the Dragon Remote Mic app on Android. Interested parties can pre-order the latest release start today for $100. More info in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 voice recognition coming in August for $100, cares what you have to say

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 voice recognition coming in August for $100, cares what you have to say originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW’s 3 and 7 Series to be the first with Nuance’s Dragon Drive! Messaging aboard

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/09/nuance-dragon-drive-messaging-on-bmw-7-3-series/

It somehow feels like it was only yesterday that Nuance unveiled its Dragon Drive! creation to the world, hoping to in the process make drivers' lives easier by delivering a fresh eyes / hands-free messaging system inside connected cars. Unfortunately, back then the savvy company didn't announce any partnerships with auto manufacturers -- still, we had a feeling it wouldn't be too long before one of them would want to come along for the voice dictation ride. The good news is, that's about to change pretty soon. Per the outfit itself, BMW's decided to bring the Dragon Drive! tech to its 2012 7 Series later this month, with the 3 Series Touring and the eco-friendly 3 Series ActiveHybrid expected to get it "later this year." Notably, Dragon Drive! will offer multi-language support, including English, Spanish, Italian, French and German. There's no word yet on just how much the fee for the service will be, but we do know those who land themselves one of these new Beemers will get a two-month trial to take Dragon Drive! for a quick spin.

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BMW's 3 and 7 Series to be the first with Nuance's Dragon Drive! Messaging aboard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Swype update brings ‘four kinds of keyboard’, sync-able voice-text dictionaries

New Swype update brings four kinds of keyboardIf it's one thing Android does right, it's the sheer range of keyboard apps and skins available -- something its competitors haven't quite latched on to just yet. While SwiftKey has charmed us with its latest iteration, Swype's also been in the testing labs and it wants to show you what it's been up to. The new version packs the same next-word prediction from Nuance's XT9 heritage and a new voice-text dictionary sync feature will add new words to both speech and text databases. You can even get the app to crawl around your emails and texts for some extra (familiar) personalization. The latest version can now download over 55 languages, while Nuance has crystallized all of its know-how into a four-in-one keyboard. This includes the typical letter-to-letter swiping that the keyboard cut its teeth on, a more typical predictive text input run through XT9, integrated dictation through a Dragon button and the simple (but slower) fingertip input, where you can trace each individual letter. You can find the beta version of Swype's latest at the source link below. Take it for a test-drive and let us know if it's enough to nudge SwiftKey out of favor.

(Update: The beta version hasn't gone live just yet. We're expecting it will launch soon.)

(Update 2: And it's live!)

Continue reading New Swype update brings 'four kinds of keyboard', sync-able voice-text dictionaries

New Swype update brings 'four kinds of keyboard', sync-able voice-text dictionaries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nuance Dragon ID secures phones, tablets and PCs with your voice

Nuance Dragon ID secures phones, tablets and PCs with your voiceDo you wish your phone would wake up when you commanded it to, like Galaxy S III? Well, it's not gonna happen (at least not without some hacking). But, your next phone might just sport the feature, all without having to be saddled with the rest of TouchWiz. Nuance is bringing its powerful voice recognition tech to OEMs and offering them the ability to not only unlock phones with voice controls, but lock them down using biometrics. In that way, it's actually got a leg up on S Voice. Dragon ID isn't a gimmick -- it's a security feature. In fact, if properly integrated, it can recognize multiple voices and open up to custom homescreens for each user. Sadly we have no idea when or where this tech will first show up, but we wouldn't be shocked to see it on both Android and Windows 8 tablets, as well as smartphones and PCs in the near future. For a few more scraps of info, check out the PR after the break.

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Nuance Dragon ID secures phones, tablets and PCs with your voice originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dragon Drive! lets you take the wheel, while Nuance takes dictation

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Do you like your cars smart? Are you itching to drive something a bit more K.I.T.T. than KIA? Well, this summer the glory of your Hasselhoff-soaked, '80s dreams will become reality, thanks to the folks at Nuance. Utilizing the same natural-language voice software currently employed across select mobile phones and TV sets, the outfit's hatched a new platform, dubbed Dragon Drive!, specifically for connected autos. The hands-free tech will support six languages at launch, with more to come throughout the year, giving drivers the ability to dictate texts and emails, as well as manage multimedia and navigation without ever lifting a finger from the wheel. So far, the company hasn't outed any initial partners for the voice recognition service. But if you're in the market for a high-end vehicle and your very own virtual Synergy, rest assured, your needs are going to be met. Hit up the break for the official presser and video tour.

Continue reading Dragon Drive! lets you take the wheel, while Nuance takes dictation

Dragon Drive! lets you take the wheel, while Nuance takes dictation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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