Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred - Medium Box

by Nuance Communications, Inc.

Product Features

• Offers unprecedented speech recognition with unrivaled accuracy levels
• Dictate and edit in virtually any Windows application, including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and AOL
• Easily create and edit documents and spreadsheets, compose emails and instant messages, or surf the Web just by speaking
• Quick Voice Formatting commands allow users to issue a single voice command to make deleting and formatting text faster than ever
• Use the included high-quality headset, work with a Bluetooth microphone, or even dictate into a digital recorder when away from the PC

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 2.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001B5J7LQ
• Item model number: A109A-G01-10.0
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 8, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (238 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,476 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #10 in Software > Business & Office > Communication > Voice Recognition

Product Description

Amazon.com

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred gives small business and advanced PC users the power to create documents, reports and emails three times faster than most people type. All with up to 99% accuracy. Surf the Web by voice or dictate and edit in Microsoft Word and Excel, Corel WordPerfect, and most other Windows-based applications.

Talk to the computer and watch the spoken words instantly appear in documents, email and instant messages. Click to enlarge.

Quick Voice Formatting makes deleting and formatting text faster than ever. Click to enlarge.

New on-screen help and tutorials help users become experts in no time. Click to enlarge.

Users can easily create spreadsheets, or edit existing ones, simply by speaking. Click to enlarge.

New Dragon Voice Shortcuts collapse common multi-click tasks into simple voice commands. Or create custom commands to insert blocks of texts and images--such as name, title, and signature--with a single voice command. Format and delete text faster than ever with Quick Voice Formatting. Users can choose to work with a Bluetooth microphone, and they can even dictate into a digital recorder when they're away from the PC.

Create Email, Documents and Spreadsheets--All by Voice

Accurate speech recognition for PC applications
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred offers unprecedented speech recognition with unrivaled accuracy levels: up to 20% fewer speech recognition errors out of the box than Version 9, and about half the amount of errors that the product delivered just five years ago. Users gain the added benefit of avoiding spelling errors and typing mistakes. In fact, the product actually learns from corrections over time.

Works with the applications users already have
Dictate directly into Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook Express and most other Microsoft Office applications running on Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Vista. Dragon also supports popular programs such as Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and AOL. Navigate the desktop by voice: launch or switch applications, save or print documents, and more--even control menus and dialog boxes.

Create and edit documents and spreadsheets by voice
Users can easily create documents and spreadsheets, or edit existing ones, simply by speaking. Add custom words, such as proper names, to the system's vocabulary or create commands, such as "insert signature," so that pre-set text and images will automatically appear in email and documents. Plus, Dragon enables easy correction and proofing: with the "play back" feature, users can listen to their dictation while Dragon highlights the corresponding text on the screen for easy proofreading.

Quick Voice Formatting commands allow users to issue a single voice command, such as "Bold Quick Voice Formatting," to make formatting and deleting text faster than ever. In addition, the extensive set of Natural Language Commands mean users don't have to memorize complex instructions. In Microsoft Word, for example, a user can say, "make that bigger," and the font size increases instantly.

Dragon 10 introduces new graphical icons to enhance the DragonBar user interface, making the product even easier to use!

Send email, Instant Messages and Surf the Web--All by Voice
Users can browse the Internet with ease: search the Web, access information and navigate Web pages, simply by speaking URLs and links.

Dragon Voice Shortcuts to Perform Tasks Faster Than Ever
Dragon Voice Shortcuts for Web Search make searching the Web faster and easier. A user says a command containing his desired search words, such as "Search the Web for financial management resources," or "Search maps for Italian restaurants in Burlington, Massachusetts," and Dragon 10 will use the default search engine and Web browser to enter his dictated term(s) in the search field and return the results. A user may also search specific sites or search the Web for a specific type of information using commands such as "Search Wikipedia for George Washington Carver," or "Search eBay for Bluetooth headsets." Sites supported by Dragon Voice Shortcuts include Google, Yahoo, eBay, Wikipedia, YouTube and more.

Dragon Voice Shortcuts for Desktop Search introduce commands to search the computer as directly as the Web, by dictating the word(s) to find documents, emails and Web browsing history. For example, a user can say, "Search computer for launch plans," and Dragon will complete the search using Google Desktop or Windows Vista desktop search. In addition, commands such as, "Find an email about the Robinson report" directly open the top email containing the dictated keywords. Searching the computer has never been faster--or easier.

Dictate into a handheld recorder for later transcription
Be productive on the go. Users can dictate into any Nuance-certified digital recorder when they're away from the office for automatic transcription when it is synched with a PC.

User Benefits

Faster than Typing
Most people speak more than 120 words per minute but type less than 40 words a minute. That means users can create documents and email messages more than three times faster using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred. The software never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more it's used.

Easy to Use--Get Started Right Away
Dragon NaturallySpeaking installs quickly and requires no special script reading. New on-screen help and tutorials help users become experts in no time. Users can dictate letters and emails instantly! A comfortable, high-quality headset is included.

Bluetooth Support
Use Dragon NaturallySpeaking with a Nuance-approved Bluetooth wireless headset for great dictation results--without the wires.

Avoid Repetitive Strain Injuries
By using voice to control the PC and create documents, users reduce their risk of developing repetitive strain injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Key Feature Differences Between Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Professional and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred	Dragon 10 Professional	Dragon 10 Preferred
Create documents, emails, reports and spreadsheets simply by speaking; surf the Web by voice	•	•
Up to 99% accuracy--right out of the box	•	•
Words appear on the screen faster than ever	•	•
No enrollment required--get started instantly	•	•
New on-screen help and tutorials--be an expert user right away	•	•
Dictate directly into virtually any Microsoft Windows application and control menus and dialog boxes by voice	•	•
Dragon Voice Shortcuts to speed Web and desktop search	•	•
Automatically transcribe recordings from Nuance-approved handheld recorders or Pocket PCs	•	•
Wireless microphone support, including Bluetooth	•	•
Play back your dictation for easier correction and proofing	•	•
Natural commands for Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Excel	•
Dragon Voice Shortcuts to speed email and calendar entries	•
Create custom voice commands to automate complex or repetitive document creation tasks	•
Fully network compatible for multiple users	•
Central network administration tools for installation and user profile management	•
Security features for enterprise deployments	•
Support for Citrix environments	•
Section 508 certified to give people with disabilities complete hands-free use of the PC	•

Product Description

Nuance A109A-G00-10.0 Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred, the world’s best-selling speech recognition software. This revolutionary and easy-to-use product gives you everything you need to be more efficient with your PC. Turn your voice into text three times faster than most people type with up to 99% accuracy. It’s so easy, you can use Nuance A109A-G00-10.0 Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred right out of the box. It learns to recognize your voice instantly and continually improves the more you use it

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

465 of 473 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works Perfectly For Me, August 30, 2008

By 

D. Savaya (Sterling Heights, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred - Medium Box (DVD-ROM)

The only reason I'm reviewing this upgraded version of Dragon is because of all the negative reviews I have read. To be perfectly honest, I was hesitant to install the software because of all the problems I was reading about in the past 10 days. I received the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 CD almost a week ago and have not installed it for fear I would mess up my computer, LOL. Finally, after reading all the negative comments and doing a lot of research on installing the program, I crossed my fingers and took the chance.

I can say in all honesty that it installed without a hitch. I receive no error messages, no constant reboot requests, no lost user files, nothing. Everything went smoothly. I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 preferred for the past two years and decided to upgrade because of the faster recognition and updated features. After inserting the Dragon 10 CD in the drive, the software loaded and proceeded to install. It recognized that I had a previous version installed and asked if I wanted to keep my user files for the new version. I clicked yes and the software did the rest.

I am using the program to dictate this review right now. It is very fast and accurate as you can tell. The words appear on the page much faster than version 9. When they say it's 20% faster, I think that is accurate. I am also noticing many less errors in recognizing my words. I'm not sure if that's because of my extensive user file or simply because the software is better.

If you are on the fence about purchasing the software, you can wait for an updated version or do what I did and upgrade now. I'm glad I did even though there were so many discouraging reviews on Amazon and other websites. My experience was trouble-free and I hope yours will be also if you purchase and eventually install the software.

254 of 259 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars overall I'm happy with the product, August 21, 2008

By 

Stephen R. Scheffler "Alki food connoisseur" (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred - Medium Box (DVD-ROM)

I am writing this review with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred. I finally had to cut and paste "NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred." because this program was performing so poorly. If ever this program was going to fail this is not a good time. LOL

This program is buggy and tech support is horrible. I have never been able to get results like the ones I see advertised on the Internet. If I could type and spell well I would leave this program alone. Unfortunately I have dyslexia and am a slow typist. Dragons speak definitely adds to my productivity significantly. If you are in a similar situation like myself, I would advise purchasing the preferred version over the standard version because this program can read back what you have typed in. I find this very helpful because often times my mind wants to read what I think should be on the page instead of what's actually been written. Dragon speak has a funny way of changing your words slightly so that your sentences don't make sense. I would advise future customers to consider an upgraded microphone, plenty of RAM, and a decent CPU. I know people have complained about loading this program but I had no trouble. I'm using windows XP.

Over the length of this review I probably touched my mouse or keyboard 10 to 20 times to correct minor errors with this program. this next sentence is an example of a common Dragon speak error."Fortunately I believe I only type I or two words." Correction Fortunately I believe I've only had to type one or two words.

I hope you found this review helpful

127 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If you own Version 9, stick with it., August 22, 2008

By 

Echolucent (Tucson) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred - Medium Box (DVD-ROM)

I have used Dragon NaturallySpeaking more than seven years, starting back with version 5. Each new version has been better, and version 9 was clearly a substantial improvement. It was fast, accurate, and reasonably stable. I use it every day for e-mail, notes, and letters.

When I saw the advertisement for version 10, I trusted the ad line that it was even faster and more accurate. Besides, shouldn't my new Dell desktop with dual core Pentium processors (running Windows XP) be able to handle version 10.

Wrong I was. After installing the software last week, I have experienced software lock-up every 15 or 20 minutes. Closing Dragon and restarting the software is not enough. I have to reboot my Dell to clear out memory in order to get another 15 or 20 minutes of reasonable function, until the software locks-up again.

In addition, I frequently experience long (up to 15 second) delays between pronunciation of a sentence and appearance of the words on the computer screen. I will confirm that word recognition accuracy is good, even better than Dragon version 9 (which wasn't bad).

My opinion: if you are running version 9, stay with it. Version 10 is unstable and interfaces poorly with other programs such as MS Word and MS Outlook. Version 10 still needs a lot of work before it is ready for prime time.