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WALTHAM, Mass., October 21, 1996 - Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc. (NASDAQ: KURZ) today introduced Kurzweil VoicePad Pro for Windows Release 1.0, the world's first shrink-wrapped voice-enabled word processing application. VoicePad Pro enables users to seamlessly integrate voice input with the keyboard and mouse, creating a natural and intuitive approach to document creation. Users can create memos, letters, reports and other documents simply by speaking into their PC.
"The introduction of Kurzweil VoicePad Pro marks the first time that a fully voice-enabled business software application has been introduced at a consumer software price point," said Mark D. Flanagan, executive vice president of Kurzweil AI, and general manager of the Company's PC Applications Group. "We are providing users with an easy and cost-effective way to experience the benefits of state-of-the-art voice recognition."
KURZWEIL VOICEPAD PRO
Kurzweil VoicePad Pro for Windows Release 1.0 is an expanded, shrink-wrapped version of Kurzweil VoicePad for Windows 95, a shareware product which has been downloaded over 25,000 times since it was introduced by Kurzweil AI in June 1996.
Kurzweil VoicePad Pro does not require any training and can be used right-out-of-the-box with 90 percent or higher recognition accuracy. In addition, the product automatically adapts to users' speech and language patterns, boosting ongoing recognition accuracy to 97 percent or higher. With VoicePad Pro, users can expect to dictate text at the rate of a good touch typist (between 45 and 60 words a minute).
Kurzweil VoicePad Pro delivers outstanding recognition accuracy and throughput using Kurzweil AI's latest discrete speech technology, making document creation and data entry faster and more efficient. The product supports voice input for both dictation, which enables the user to create text and enter data simply by speaking into the word processing application, and navigation, which drives the application on a command and control basis.
In addition to creating documents through dictation, users can also format text, navigate through the application's menus and dialogs, change the application's settings, and preview and print documents - all using intuitive voice commands. VoicePad Pro fully integrates Kurzweil AI's discrete dictation capabilities with its state-of-the-art continuous digit recognition so users can quickly and efficiently enter telephone numbers, street addresses, zip codes, dollar amounts, social security numbers and other numeric data directly into the documents as they create them.
Kurzweil VoicePad Pro Release 1.0 has a 20,000 word active vocabulary, comprised of 17,000 commonly spoken words, and the ability for users to customize their system by adding up to 3,000 of their own words and commands. Users can easily insert proper names, addresses, and even templates for standard correspondence with simple voice commands. The product also has an on-line dictionary, including acoustic models and spellings, for a total of 200,000 words.
Kurzweil VoicePad Pro will appeal to a wide range of users: executives and professionals with limited typing skills; individuals who are suffering pain or injury from the repetitive motion of the keyboard and mouse; students of all ages; and, novice PC users. In addition, VoicePad Pro includes the advanced features required by users who want to fully integrate voice input into their document creation process.
"Kurzweil VoicePad Pro is a great way for us to introduce voice-enabled PC computing to our customers," said Toby Mackey, the product marketing manager for emerging multimedia markets at PC Connection, a leading direct reseller of computers, software and peripherals. "It will provide them with a very positive first experience with voice recognition technology, allowing them to create documents by voice. Later on, these users will have the option to upgrade to Kurzweil VOICE, the award-winning voice recognition system that allows them to voice-enable their entire Windows-based PC."
Kurzweil AI has bundled the Andrea NC-50 noise-canceling microphone with Kurzweil VoicePad Pro. In addition to the microphone, the system requirements for Kurzweil VoicePad Pro for Windows Release 1.0 include: a 486 DX4/75 microprocessor for Windows 3.1x; a Pentium microprocessor is required for Windows 95 (VoicePad Pro will take advantage of the additional processing power of faster PCs to boost accuracy and throughput); 8 MB of dedicated RAM (this is in addition to the RAM required for the operating system and other applications); 20 MB dedicated hard disk space; VGA or higher resolution video adapter; a 16-bit sound board from Creative Labs, or any other Windows-compatible 16-bit sound board.
The suggested retail price of Kurzweil VoicePad Pro for Windows Release 1.0, which includes the Andrea NC-50 microphone, is $79.95. Interested parties can call 1-800-380-1234 for further information, or for the name of the nearest authorized reseller.
The original version of Kurzweil VoicePad can still be downloaded from the Company's web site http://www.kurzweil.com and used, free of charge, for a brief evaluation period.
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