Nuance's XT9 Simplifies Text Input on Sharp AQUOS TVs

Nuance's Successful Predictive Text Input Lets People Quickly and Easily Find and Discover TV Content; Days of Painstakingly Entering a Search Letter by Letter via Remote Control are Over

Burlington, Mass. – August 14, 2012 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that the Sharp AQUOS TV ASIA features intelligent text input powered by Nuance’s XT9, optimized for IPTVs. With XT9, Sharp AQUOS ASIA consumers experience a simpler way to find web content and navigate menus.

Today’s IPTV experience provides consumers with seemingly limitless contents and entertainment options; but, traditional remote controls make it difficult to navigate menus and search the web – and nearly impossible to discover new content. Nuance’s XT9 predictive input technology automatically completes likely search terms after only a few characters are entered, changing the way people engage their traditional remote controls to enter complete words and phrases. XT9 for TV features word correction and auto punctuation, and lets people easily alternate between numbers, letters and symbols.

XT9 supports over 80 languages worldwide, and is available alongside Nuance’s successful Dragon TV voice and natural language understanding platform to provide TV manufacturers with the ability to offer consumers a flexible, multimodal voice and touch connected TV experience.

“There’s a new revolution underway around the digital living room search experience,” said Michael Thompson, executive vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “Consumers demand the ability to quickly get to the content they love, and easily discover new entertainment options.”

Availability

Sharp’s 2012 AQUOS IPTV ASIA featuring Nuance’s XT9 will begin shipping in August 2012, supporting English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Farsi and Arabic. For more details on Sharp’s AQUOS TV portfolio and availability visit www.aquos-world.com/en/.

To learn more about XT9, Dragon TV and Nuance Mobile’s broad portfolio of voice and touch innovations, visitwww.nuancemobilelife.com.

About Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language 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 devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Nuance Introduces Nina, the Virtual Assistant for Mobile Customer Service Apps

Press release:

Nina is the First Virtual Assistant to Understand What is Said – And Who is Saying It;
First to Provide an Open SDK for Mobile App Developers

Burlington, MA – August 6, 2012 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today introduced Nina, the virtual assistant for mobile customer service apps. With Nina, companies can quickly add speech-based virtual assistant capabilities to their existing iOS and Android mobile apps, greatly enhancing the self-service experience for their customers. Nina combines Nuance speech recognition, Text-to-Speech (TTS), voice biometrics, and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) technology hosted in the cloud to deliver an interactive user experience that not only understands what is said, but also can identify who is saying it.

Nuance also announced that USAA, a leading financial services provider that serves members of the U.S. military, veterans and their families, has adopted the virtual assistant for use within its popular mobile app. A pilot is planned for August and the functionality will launch to all USAA members early next year.

“USAA’s innovative solutions are designed to make life easier for our highly mobile military service members, and increasingly for all members who now expect to get things done when, where and how they want.” said Neff Hudson, assistant vice president of emerging channels for USAA. “We believe that the virtual assistant has tremendous potential to make it simpler, faster and more satisfying for our members to manage their financial affairs on their mobile devices.”

Nina is significant because it is the first virtual assistant customer service app to incorporate both speech recognition and voice biometrics into a single integrated solution. Nina is also the first solution that provides an open software development kit (SDK) to support the rapid integration of virtual assistant capabilities into existing mobile applications. In addition, Nina is the first to allow organizations to brand their own virtual assistant persona, including the visual appearance and implementation of optional custom TTS voices.

“Nina is a watershed innovation for the automated customer service industry, not only because it brings the virtual assistant directly into an app, but because it raises the bar through its level of interactive dialog and language understanding,” said Robert Weideman, executive vice president and general manager of the Nuance Enterprise Division. “Nina provides our customers a major competitive differentiator by enabling more successful self-service through their mobile apps. We are especially pleased to further our partnership with USAA, a company known for its innovation and approach to delivering a premier mobile customer service experience to its members.”

The Nina Virtual Assistant for customer service is comprised of:

• Nina Virtual Assistant Persona: Nina is a pre-made virtual assistant persona, which developers can leverage for their app, or use the available source code to quickly create a custom persona, including changing visual persona elements such as being awake, asleep, listening, processing, or answering a request. Nina also includes a range of existing Nuance text-to-speech voices, and Nuance can develop a custom TTS voice for an optional development fee.
• Nina Virtual Assistant SDK: To enable the rapid integration of virtual assistant capabilities into mobile apps for Apple iOS and Android, the Nina Virtual Assistant SDK has three components:
• Nina Core APIs – Binary APIs that provide access to the core cloud services, such as speech recognition, text to speech and NLU. This provides the most control and customization possible to the mobile app developer.
• Nina Virtual Assistant APIs – Source APIs that provide mobile app developers with access to customize the persona, as well as providing control of all modes of input, including speech recognition, text to speech and touch dialogs.
• Nina Reference Designs – Source code of Nina Virtual Assistant apps and functions, including the Nina Banking Assistant, deliver pre-designed templates and tasks for store location, bill pay, account information and over 200 other banking related queries. Developers will be able to leverage the reference designs to rapidly develop their own virtual assistant capabilities for travel, insurance, retail, government and more.
• Nina Virtual Assistant Cloud: The power and intelligence of Nina, including Nuance’s industry-leading speech recognition, TTS, NLU, interactive dialog management and voice biometrics services, is delivered through Nuance’s hosted platform, Nuance On Demand.

Availability

The Nina Virtual Assistant SDK and cloud service is available now from Nuance in US, UK and Australian English, with additional languages to be made available later this year. Nuance provides professional services in support of Nina and virtual assistant implementations.

For more information about Nina: http://www.nuance.com/meet-nina.

About Nuance Communications

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language 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 devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Nuance Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search Apps Now Available in Saudi Arabia

Dragon Apps Make Debut in the Middle East, Providing Saudi Consumers wtih a Faster and Easier Way to Send Text Messages and Emails, Update Twitter and Facebook, Search for Web Content and More Just by Speaking

Burlington, Mass. and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – March 28, 2012 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that its Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search applications for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad are now available for free in Saudi Arabia in the Apple App Store, supporting the Standard Arabic language. Already downloaded by tens of millions worldwide, Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search allow people to quickly and easily dictate SMS text messages, emails, social media updates, mobile Web searches and more, up to five times faster than typing.

The launch of Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search in Saudi Arabia marks the first deployment of Standard Arabic Dragon voice recognition for iOS applications, and the debut of the Dragon Apps in the Middle East. According to a recent Arab Advisors survey of mobile phone users in Saudi Arabia, 47 percent of respondents who use applications prefer to use them in the Arabic language, and that iPhones have a 40 percent share of all smartphones operating systems in Saudi Arabia.

“We are very excited to bring the power of voice to Saudi Arabia via Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search, marking our debut in the Middle East as part of a response to global demand for voice interfaces and applications,” said Anil Kumar, Regional Director, Nuance Middle East and Balkans. “With availability in 29 countries, Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search make it incredibly easy for mobile consumers all over the world to bring their ideas to life by just speaking.”

Dragon Dictation is iOS-5 compatible and features a pop-up toolbar with app icons that enable users to easily send their dictated text to email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, or the clipboard. Dragon Dictation also includes a convenient Auto Save function that retains dictated text when the user is interrupted by an incoming phone call.

Dragon Search is now also available on the Saudi Arabia App Store, allowing users to simply speak any search query in Standard Arabic to quickly and easily find information and answers on the mobile Web. Dragon Search is the only app to feature Nuance’s unique and innovative Dragon Search Carousel, which delivers faster, smarter search results within seconds across multiple channels all at once including Google, Yahoo!, Twitter, iTunes, Wikipedia and YouTube.

Both Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search are available for free from the Saudi Arabia App Store.

Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search are also available in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, Denmark, Brazil, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland App Stores. In addition to Standard Arabic, the Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search support U.S, UK and Australian English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Taiwan Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia, Hungarian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, European and Canadian French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, European and Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, European and Americas Spanish, and Swedish. And with multilingual capabilities, all Dragon app users are able to easily switch between supported languages as they come available.

To learn more, visit www.NuanceMobileLife.com. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter @NuanceMobile, and become a Fan of Dragon Mobile Apps on Facebook.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language 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 devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications.  For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Alltel & Nuance Announce Voice2Text

Alltel and Nuance Announce Voice2Text


Nuance's Dragon Voicemail to Text Service Turns Alltel Subscribers' Voice Messages into Text and Delivers Them via Text Message

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. and BURLINGTON, Mass. – March 6, 2012 – Alltel Wireless and Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that Nuance’s Dragon Voicemail to Text is powering Alltel’s Voice2Text service. With Voice2Text, mobile phones on the Alltel network can receive transcribed voice messages as text messages delivered directly to the subscribers’ message inbox.

“Carriers like Alltel need innovative voice services that meet the demands of dynamic mobile consumers,” said John Pollard, vice president and general manager, voice-to-text services, Nuance Mobile. “Dragon Voicemail to Text takes a must-have service like voicemail and delivers it with the speed and convenience required in today's messaging environment."

Alltel’s Voice2Text service greatly simplifies the voicemail experience. Customers can now read their voice messages as texts right on their mobile phone without the need for passwords or voice prompts. And because it’s a text message, subscribers can quickly and easily respond to friends, family or colleagues via text. Voice2Text features the same accurate and reliable Dragon voice recognition technology used in the renowned Dragon Mobile apps and Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Messages can be stored or forwarded, and subscribers can still hear the original voicemail recording if needed.

“Our subscribers love the simplicity of our Voice2Text service. They can quickly and easily respond to their messages without having to wait or listen to voice prompts,” said Scott Moody, Alltel vice president of marketing, Alltel Wireless.

Alltel’s Voice2Text service is currently available for a free 60-day trial, and then available for $2.99 per month. To learn more, visit www.alltelwireless.com/voice2txt. For more information on Nuance’s voice-to-text offerings, visit http://www.nuance.com.

About Alltel Wireless
Allied Wireless Communications Corporation (AWCC), doing business as Alltel Wireless, is a wireless telecommunications provider serving customers in six states. Headquartered in Little Rock, AR., AWCC is a subsidiary of Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATNI). For more information, please visit http://alltelwireless.com or http://awcc.com. 

About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language 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 devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications.  For more information, please visit http://www.nuance.com.

New Voice Mail to Text Service

News release from Nuance:


U.S. Cellular Announces New Voice Mail to Text Service Powered by Nuance

U.S. Cellular Subscribers Can Now Experience the Convenience of Reading Voice Mails as Text Messages and Emails, All Powered by Nuance's Dragon Voicemail-to-Text

CHICAGO and BURLINGTON, Mass. February 6, 2012 -- U.S. Cellular and Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) together announced the availability of U.S. Cellular’s new Voice Mail to Text service, powered by Nuance’s fully-automated Dragon Voicemail-to-Text platform. U.S. Cellular’s Voice Mail to Text lets subscribers read their voice messages via text message or email on their mobile phone – any time, any place.

U.S. Cellular’s new fully-automated Voice Mail to Text service was created with today’s mobile consumer in mind – always on the go, but always in demand and connected to friends, family, customers and colleagues. Voice Mail to Text lets users discreetly check their voice mail without the tedious retrieval steps, or having to listen to – and skip – multiple unimportant messages. People can easily respond to voice mail via text or email when calling back isn’t an option. Further, Voice Mail to Text makes searching voice mails incredibly easy. If necessary, Voice Mail to Text also offers the ability to listen to the original audio.

“Our customers are busy and always on the go, and want to stay connected to their friends and family,” said Jennifer Micek, senior director of the product group for U.S. Cellular. “With our new Voice Mail to Text service, our customers can get more done quickly and get back to what’s most important to them.”

“In today’s competitive mobile market, carriers need to offer their subscribers innovative services that deliver tangible, everyday value,” said John Pollard, general manager and vice president, voice to text services, Nuance Mobile. “Dragon Voicemail-to-Text is known for quickly and conveniently making people more responsive, and simply eliminating the need to ever retrieve voice mail. And because it’s powered by Dragon – you always get the message.”

Nuance’s Dragon Voice-to-Text services portfolio features the same core speech technology at the heart of Nuance’s renowned Dragon Mobile apps and Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

U.S. Cellular’s Voice Mail to Text is currently available and free to subscribers as a 30-day trial. The service is $2.99 per month after the 30-day free trial as a subscription service, which includes unlimited transcriptions, and is available as a vertical feature on all price plans. For more information, visit the Voice Mail to Text page on uscellular.com.

For more information on Nuance’s voice-to-text offerings, visit www.nuance.com.

About U.S. Cellular
U.S. Cellular rewards its customers with unmatched benefits and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier has a strong line-up of cutting-edge devices that are all backed by its high-speed nationwide network that has the highest call quality of any national carrier. U.S. Cellular was named a J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Customer Service Champion and received PC Magazine's 2011 Readers' Choice Award. To learn more about U.S. Cellular, visit one of its retail stores or uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with U.S. Cellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language 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 devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications.  For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Wolfram Alpha

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Wolfram, a Search Engine, Finds Answers Within Itself 

By STEVE LOHR

Stephen Wolfram, a 52-year-old scientist, software designer and entrepreneur, tends to go his own way — often with noteworthy results. He published his first physics paper at 15, earned his Ph.D. from Caltech at 20 and two years later won a MacArthur prize.

Less than three years ago, Dr. Wolfram created a new kind of search engine, called Wolfram Alpha. Unlike Google or Microsoft’s Bing, Wolfram Alpha does not forage the Web. It culls its own painstakingly curated database to find answers.

There was skepticism in 2009, when Wolfram Alpha arrived, with critics saying the approach was very limited, useful mainly for math and science facts. But the technology has come a long way, including delivering many answers for Siri, the question-answering personal assistant in the Apple iPhone 4S.

The new version of Wolfram Alpha arrives Wednesday afternoon. Its formal name is Wolfram Alpha Pro, and Dr. Wolfram calls “Step 2, the next step of what can be done with this approach,” which he describes as a “computational knowledge engine.”

The new version handles data and images (as well as text).