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We rely on digital assistants (“Siri, will I need an umbrella tomorrow?”) and smart speakers in many ways in our personal lives. They can tell us the weather, help with driving directions and answer our questions. But what if we can harness the power of this technology in our professional lives too? Thanks to voice recognition software, you can.
Nuance’s Dragon is one of the most advanced and comprehensive voice recognition solutions on the market (and our top pick in our experts’ dictation software comparison). What all can Dragon do and how can it help you save time and make your workday more efficient? Let’s find out.
Nuance Dragon
Pros
- 99% accuracy
- Available for PC and Mac, with companion iOS and Android apps (added fee)
- Compatible with major web browsers, Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, Bluetooth
- Mobile apps work with WiFi or cellular
- Can create customized words and commands
- Formats text and you can insert graphics
- Supports 7 languages
Cons
- Customer service only available M-F, 9-8pm ET
- Learning how to use all the features can be a bit complicated
- Must use punctuation commands
- License is only for one user
7 Key Features
- Speech recognition converts your voice to text regardless of your accent, dialect, or inflection.
- Learning mechanism adjusts to your language and accent and improves dictation over time.
- Saves time writing and proofing documents.
- Works anywhere you can dictate – documents, the internet, desktop apps, and email.
- Replace your mouse – control your computer with your voice, and save yourself from work related injuries, especially combined with a standing desk.
- Transcribe recordings and create custom commands.
- Trusted by millions of users and companies worldwide.
Pricing
- Dragon Anywhere (iOS or Android mobile app)- 7-day free trial (after that $15/month or $150 for 12 months)
- View all products (Dragon Home ($150), Dragon Pro ($300), Dragon Legal ($500))
Customer Reviews
Here’s a balanced sampling of Dragon Speech Recognition customer reviews from across the interwebs.
Positive Reviews
This software’s in-build increased adaptations works excellently, It will run in the background and be rapidly available which is really good for me. My working speed is vastly improved and transcribing time is halved. – Annoymous, g2 9/8/2019
The voice commands can do an impressive amount of work, easing your hands and fingers from typing and mousing, and the added support for Web browsers is a great update. If you’re new to Dragon, just bear in mind that does take focused effort to learn to use this hefty software. – Jill, pcmag 8/12/2014
Negative Reviews
I think for the most part, Dragon speech recognition is accurate. I only have had minimal issues with some words and abbreviations but I’m sure those things will be sorted out and will get better with time. Cost was really the only issue because my experience with it through my work was as a trial. – Jonathan, g2 4/3/2018
The software DRAGON which I used for more than 3-4 months could not give me the expected notch performance. As first of all it requires the training process even after that it is committing mistakes randomly. Even the software is little costly as per the delivery of the performance. – Bharat, TrustPilot 3/19/2019
Our Experience With Dragon
Here at We Rock Your Web, we have used Dragon products for years. In fact, I am currently dictating this entire article using it. And I’m able to get it done in about a third of the time. However, it’s not perfect. For example, while speaking this document, we initially had to tell Dragon to write NaturallySpeaking as one word, and to capitalize it. However, it has meanwhile learned to do that on its own. This really comes in handy over time, as Dragon adjusts to your vocal pattern and speaking habits.
Video: See Dragon In Action
Watch this quick video to see what’s possible with Dragon’s software including formatting text, sending emails and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here’s questions we’ve received from our readers regarding Nuance’s speech recognition products. Don’t see yours? Ask us in the comments!
Dragon Naturally Speaking Won’t Capitalize First Word Of The Sentence?
Question: I can’t seem to get Dragon Naturally Speaking to capitalize the first word of a sentence (for example, after a period, question mark, or exclamation mark). I should point out that if I dictate into MS Word, Dragon will capitalize the first word of the next sentence. When speaking into my WYSIWYG editor in Basecamp, it won’t Is there a setting I can adjust to force Dragon to capitalize the first letter of the word immediately following a period, for example?
Answer: Open Dragon NaturallySpeaking and browse to Vocabulary > Open Vocabulary Editor. In the “written form” list, type in a period. This will take you down the list to the various period options. You’ll notice that you can use dot, period, full stop, etc. Click on one and select the Properties button. You’ll see a drop-down option “format the next word”, where you can select “capitalized.”
Why Stop At Dictation Software?
Now that you’re writing at Mach speed, if you’re like us you’re also making a few more mistakes. Grammar checking software can help catch typos that Dragon misses and give you an extra set of eyes on your work.
Using voice dictation is just the ice tip of making your workplace more efficient, healthy, and enjoyable. There are endless ways to increase your productivity, including taking advantage of these business apps. And these are some of our favorite project management tools to help bring everyone on your team onto the same page.
Have you ever used dictation software? We’d love to hear your experience in the comments.
Tagged With: Content Marketing, Reviews
