Nuance Powers Innovative Speech Capabilities on New Olympus Digital Audio Device

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced that its speech technology is powering the recognition and text-to-speech capabilities found in the new Olympus DM-4 and DM-5 digital audio device. With Nuance’s speech capabilities, users are able to use their voice for device command and control, as well as listen to text files while on the go. DM-4 and DM-5 are the latest in a new line up of digital audio devices from Olympus that feature large color LCDs and easy-to-navigate menus for audio recording, editing and playback of podcasts, music, audio books, textbooks, and DAISY books.

“More consumer devices hitting the market are featuring both speech recognition and text-to-speech capabilities, providing an intuitive and universal interface that all consumers can benefit from.”

DM-4 and DM-5 feature robust speech recognition capabilities that are powered by Nuance VoCon 3200, Nuance’s trusted speech recognition engine shipping in a variety of consumer electronic devices around the world. Users are able to speak commands that allow them to access folders and set-up options, and easily add items to their lists and calendars. Pre-defined keywords, such as “work,” “travel,” “memo,” and more can also be added to audio files, making it even easier to access files just by using your voice.

The device also features Nuance Vocalizer for text-to-speech to provide voice guidance, enabling visually challenged users to achieve equal accessibility while capturing recordings or moving through the device’s menus, folders and set-up options. Users are also able to hear file details, like date, time, artist, title and preset keywords, to easily identify files without having to listen to them.

“In designing our lineup of new digital audio devices, we wanted to ensure we had innovative features that cater to a broad audience. By integrating Nuance’s speech technology, we’re able to provide users with an incredibly easy-to-use interface that is revolutionizing the digital recorder, while providing key accessibility features to those who need them,” said Yuich Saito, General Manager, Audio Business Department, Olympus Imaging Corp.

“We’re thrilled to see Olympus taking advantage of end-to-end speech capabilities to give their consumers the best possible experience a digital audio device has to offer,” said Michael Thompson, senior vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “More consumer devices hitting the market are featuring both speech recognition and text-to-speech capabilities, providing an intuitive and universal interface that all consumers can benefit from.”

Availability

DM-4 and DM-5 will begin shipping in Summer 2010 from Olympus, and are the latest consumer devices to feature Nuance’s robust speech recognition and text-to-speech technology. DM-4 will be sold in Japan, North America and South America, and DM-5 will be sold in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and other countries around the world.

Nuance’s pervasive suite of mobile speech solutions ship on a variety of platforms, phones, consumer devices, and automobiles from leading manufacturers around the world, including Amazon, Ford, Samsung, TomTom, and many others. Nuance’s full portfolio of speech and predictive input offerings are changing the way consumers interact with their mobile devices to send text messages and email, place calls, and access the mobile Web for information, directions, music and more. To learn more, visit www.nuance.com/mobiledevices

About Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance is a leading provider of speech and imaging 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 information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit: nuance.com.

Nuance, VoCon 3200, Vocalizer, and the Nuance logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States of America and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

The statements in this press release, relating to future plans or future events or services, are forward-looking statements which are subject to specific risks and uncertainties. There are a number of factors which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward looking statements, including fluctuations in demand for the Nuance products, the relationship with the partner and the continued development of Nuance products. The reader is warned not to rely on these forward-looking statements without reservation, since these are simply reflections of the current situation. Nuance disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document.