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What's in the overview below?  

Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Speech Recognition Overview

With Nuance Communications, Inc. Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Speech Recognition Software, just speak to your computer naturally – without the need to pause between words – and your words appear immediately on your screen and in your document.  Dictate entire paragraphs at a time.  Compose e-mail messages, create reports, draft letters and edit proposals, just by speaking.  For many users, reports, proposals and letters can all be completed in about one third of the time needed for typing.

NaturallySpeaking Instructors representing the Dragon NaturallySpeaking® product line and related products.     If you have questions about the manufacturer, see our note at the end of this page. 

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NaturallySpeaking Version 10 announced August 7, 2008!

Read the NaturallySpeaking Version 10 Press Release or our How to Order page for information about new features and how to order.    See below for first customer ship dates.

NaturallySpeaking Products

Do you know which product you want? Go directly to our HOW TO ORDER page!

Dragon NaturallySpeaking® is the premier large-vocabulary, continuous speech product in the marketplace.  Dragon NaturallySpeaking® was first introduced in 1997 and has won numerous major industry awards in past years.   PC/Computing, BYTE, InfoWorld, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle and other major publications named Dragon NaturallySpeaking the best speech recognition product in competitive reviews.   

Dragon NaturallySpeaking® is available in several editions:

If you are unfamiliar with the different editions of NaturallySpeaking, you might benefit from reading this NaturallySpeaking V10 Family Comparison. 

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NaturallySpeaking Upgrades

Dragon NaturallySpeaking® has been updated and enhanced on a regular basis since its introduction in 1997.  The current version is Version 10.  (Announced August 7, 2008)   Direct upgrades are available from Version 8 or Version 9 to the current Version 10.   See our Upgrade page for more information.

Owners of versions prior to Version 8 are not eligible for V10 upgrades and will need to purchase full copies of the product to move to Version 10.   (Another option while supplies last: We do have a some earlier version upgrades (v6/7 to v8) so that users can upgrade to a version that is allowed to upgrade.)   See our Upgrade page for more information.

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Microphones

While NaturallySpeaking® and DragonDictate® speech recognition products do include a microphone, there are many reasons a user might choose an alternative microphone or need additional microphones.

Many styles are available. See our Microphone Page for some examples and call for information about any you do not see.

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Digital Recorders

A popular add-on product for the mobile "dictator" is the hand-held dictation device. With these devices, users can record their dictation for later transcription by Dragon NaturallySpeaking®.  

Customers have the benefit of dictating on the go while saving money on costly transcription services.    This level of portability is important for the user who needs more mobility than a portable PC can provide. Doctors, lawyers, and others can dictate and, at the organizations' choice, delegate transcription monitoring and correction to someone else using these devices. 

Dictate on the go and let NaturallySpeaking transcribe the dictation for your later!   See our Recorder page for options! 

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Training and Services

Do you feel you need pre-purchase/installation/training/customization assistance?  Here's a short self-quiz:

If you answered no to these questions or you need to "hit the ground running" with this new technology, you may desire some assistance. To make the most of this technology, users usually want/need training, vocabulary customization, voice macro development, template/form development, integration with applications, etc.  See our NaturallySpeaking Services Page for more information.

If you'd like additional self-help information, check out our NaturallySpeaking Training Aids Page -- with books and videos to help you learn NaturallySpeaking!

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NaturallySpeaking® Customer Support

IMAGE Management, LLC has been selling and supporting speech recognition since 1993.  We have developed resources for the prospective user as well as the experienced user of NaturallySpeaking®.  Check out our pre-sales and user support page for more information.

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DragonDictate

We still offer the product that came before Dragon NaturallySpeaking® -- DragonDictate®.   What are the circumstances where a dictator might want/need DragonDictate® instead of the newer NaturallySpeaking®?  

DragonDictate® allows you to control virtually any Windows application by voice. It automatically lets you speak the words on menus, dialog boxes and on-screen buttons to activate them. With this discrete speech product technology, you can create business letters, spreadsheets and more without using the keyboard.

Important Notes:  DragonDictate® was last enhanced in 1997 and officially supports Windows 3.X and Windows 95.  The manufacturer no longer provides tech support for the product.   Because DragonDictate® was last enhanced in 1997, the product has not been tested with or upgraded to support newer hardware.  Therefore, you may have to spend additional setup time getting your microphone/sound card working, creating commands to navigate the many applications that have come out since 1997, etc.  Click here for more information about DragonDictate®.

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History of the the manufacturer & ownership of the NaturallySpeaking product?

Nuance Communications, Inc. (formerly ScanSoft, Inc.) has been the manufacturer of  NaturallySpeaking® Speech Recognition Software since December 12, 2001, when they purchased the speech and language assets of Lernout & Hauspie, Inc. (L&H).  Lernout & Hauspie had previously acquired NaturallySpeaking® and related products through their June 2000 purchase of Dragon Systems, Inc. (Dragon Systems, Inc. was the original developer of Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Speech Recognition Software and predecessor products including DragonDictate®.)

You may know that ScanSoft bought Nuance Communications, Inc. in 2005 and chose to change the overall company name to Nuance Communications, Inc. This name change was announced on October 18, 2005 and, during the transition period, there was a mixture of ScanSoft-Nuance branding, logos, name references, etc.  NaturallySpeaking Version 9 is the first NaturallySpeaking version to fully reflect the Nuance name in its packaging.

If you have any questions or would like to order, please contact us.