Dragon Dictation is now available in the iPhone app store
Dragon Dictation, which is a simplified version of the PC software, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, is now available in the iTunes App store. And, for some limited amount of time, it is FREE.
What You See:
This application is simple, but very nice. At launch, all you see is a button, with text that reads, "Tap here and dictate." Go on, tap! The application immediately begins recording what you say. When you are finished, press another button, and the speech-to-text conversion occurs. Once you have text, you can either edit the text or export it to e-mail on your phone, text messaging, or the clipboard. If you don't like the virtual keyboard, this program offers a way to write a significant amount of text in a hurry.
It Works:
In my testing, it was shockingly accurate. Admitedly, I tested the application is a quiet room, with no significant background noise. Dragon Dictation recognized punctuation and "new line" commands. I'm still amazed at the quality of the recognition from a phone. A phone.
I have spent some more time working with dragon dictation, and I continue to be impressed with the accuracy of the voice recognition. I have tried using the application in environments where there is background conversation, and the microphone on the iPhone is able to isolate my voice from remote background sounds. While the recognition is not perfect, and no application of this type promises perfection, it is still a valuable tool for dictation when typing is not a reasonable alternative. This update to my post was drafted entirely with dragon dictation. It required only one correction. I had to change the word protection to perfection.