ScanSoft Unveils Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 – A Milestone for Speech Recognition, Valuable for Everyone 

Amazing Accuracy Improvements as well as Enterprise and Ease-of-Use Features Turn Speech Recognition Promise into Reality – in the Home, Office and Enterprise

 PEABODY, Mass., November 1, 2004 - ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the leading global supplier of speech and imaging solutions, today introduced ScanSoft® Dragon NaturallySpeaking® version 8, a new release of the world's best-selling and most popular speech recognition solution for Microsoft Windows.  With unprecedented accuracy improvements, expanded enterprise functionality, and new ease-of-use features, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 makes speech recognition valuable for everyone – in homes, offices and businesses around the world.   

 Dragon NaturallySpeaking converts speech into text at up to 160 words per minute, and allows users to control their PC completely by voice.  With an accuracy increase of more than 25 percent, Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 delivers the most significant accuracy improvement in the history of the product, achieving up to 99 percent total accuracy levels.   The new version also adds support for using Palm Tungsten devices for mobile dictation; includes smart formatting of spoken dates, numbers and acronyms; enables roaming use from any PC on a network; and expands the ability to add custom vocabularies to the product.  The new release also includes expanded network tools for installing Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 throughout an enterprise, a key requirement for large organizations looking to implement speech recognition solutions.

“Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 represents a significant breakthrough in recognition accuracy,” said Chuck Runquist, chief executive officer of GEMCCON, a software evaluation and benchmarking company. “If you also consider the new features in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8, such as the roaming user functionality and expanded custom command options, I can see tremendous benefits to both home and enterprise users.  It is clear that there is an opportunity to significantly expand the market acceptance of this product.”

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is tightly integrated with Microsoft Office, allowing users to create new documents, or change the layout of existing documents, using their voice. ScanSoft provides versions of the product that are U.S. Section 508 certified, assuring organizations that the product meets government standards for use by those with disabilities.  Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Professional is the ideal solution for corporations looking to reduce temporary labor costs and insurance premiums by reducing repetitive stress injuries and worker compensation claims.

“Dragon NaturallySpeaking enables many of the people with whom I work to achieve equivalent ‘typing’ speeds of over 100 words per minute, while still maintaining high levels of accuracy,” said Deke Lightholder, a Certified Disability Management Professional with more than 25 years of experience.  “I've also witnessed how this technology has saved our organization considerable money in reduced disability benefits and lost work days. For individuals or companies looking for ways to help reduce keying and mousing, increase productivity and prevent possible injury, I encourage consideration of the benefits offered by Dragon NaturallySpeaking.”

A Breakthrough in Speech Recognition for Microsoft Windows

To help users achieve an increased level of productivity and unparalleled levels of accuracy, ScanSoft has added a number of key capabilities to Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8: