Nuance updates Dragon lineup with cloud version, mobile-friendly tools
Nuance on Tuesday revamped its Dragon voice recognition product lineup with new versions for the Mac as well as a cloud-based mobile service designed to make document creation easier on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.
For Nuance, Dragon's voice systems are the end-user focused brand. Nuance serves as the back end voice recognition technology for everything from cars to call centers and health care records. Dragon's technology is geared more toward the business professional as well as smaller enterprises.
With the new set of products, Nuance's Dragon unit is bring many of the voice tools found on the desktop to mobile devices. For instance, Dragon Anywhere, a subscription based cloud service, can allow you to create a document or fill out a form and then save it to Evernote, Box or another storage service.
Specifically, the new product lineup includes:
- A new version for Dragon Desktop on the Mac.
- Dragon Professional Group, which is designed for offices and document sharing.
- Dragon Professional Individual, which doesn't have group management.
- Dragon Anywhere, a service that makes Dragon available on any mobile device.
- Nuance User Management Center, which manages users, preferences and special terminology.
The overall idea is to make swapping screens and creating documents more intuitive with voice technology. Peter Mahoney, general manager and chief marketing officer, said the new Dragon offerings are targeted at workers who need custom vocabularies and document creation in the field. "The built in voice recognition on a device works fine for a text or short note, but you couldn't use it for a three page report," said Mahoney. "These products are for anyone out and about and mobile who has to create reports."
In a demonstration, the primary use case revolved around the iPad and Dragon Anywhere. Mahoney said many customers requested iPad Dragon because it's becoming more of a document creation tool. Dragon Anywhere also revolves around synchronizing vocabulary across devices and sharing documents via multiple services. Nuance didn't create its own cloud collaboration system given there are so many already available.
"These products have been designed to focus on the contemporary way people work across multiple devices," said Mahoney.
As for pricing, Dragon Anywhere runs $15 a month or $150 a year as many iOS or Android devices a customer has. Dragon for Mac runs $200; Dragon Professional Individual is $300; Dragon Professional Group is $600, but has volume licensing. Dragon will continue to sell its Dragon 13 versions. Individuals with Dragon Professional 12 or higher can upgrade to Dragon Professional Individual for $150. Folks upgrading from Dragon Premium can get Dragon Professional Individual for $200.
Dragon for Mac will be available in early September with Dragon Anywhere available later in the fall.
Here's a look at a few screens from Dragon Anywhere on an iPad.
