MacSpeech Receives Update, New Features

MacSpeech has just released a new version of the Mac only speech recognition program, iListen. iListen Preview Release 2 adds new features, and promises to offer improved voice recognition. According to MacSpeech:

Macintosh speech recognition authority, MacSpeech, Inc., is excited to announce Preview Release 2 of its upcoming iListen software.

iListen was developed in partnership with Philips Speech Processing, using their FreeSpeech 2000 speech engine. Philips is a global market leader in speech recognition, natural dialogue and language understanding technologies.

"iListen is designed to be the speech recognition software for the rest of us," said MacSpeech Chief Evangelist Chuck Rogers. "Its ability to stay in the background and allow the user to dictate into virtually any Macintosh application will set a new standard for the industry." iListen utilizes TalkAnywhere? dictation technology, which converts spoken words into typewritten text and characters anywhere a Macintosh user would normally type.

iListen PR2 extends the functionality of PR1 by allowing users to read more training stories to increase recognition accuracy, and includes the ability to issue voice commands. iListen PR2 also allows the user to create text macros of up to 32,000 characters that can be typed with a single voice command.

All registered users of iListen PR1 will be receive instructions via email on how to download a free updater to PR2. Anyone interested in obtaining the Preview Release can order a free iListen PR1 CD from the MacSpeech web site. Once registered, they will also receive instructions for downloading the PR2 release. There is a $9.95 shipping and handling charge associated with the PR1 CD.

A final release date for iListen has not been set. However, the final product is expected to sell for US$169 packaged with a microphone, or US$129 without a mic. You can find more information at the MacSpeech web site.