NEC Computer Systems ships Kurzweil VoicePad with new Ready Office personal computer line; NEC's Ready Office PC systems first to ship voice-enabled word processing application

Business Wire, Oct 7, 1996

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1996--Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc. (NASDAQ: KURZ) today announced that NEC Computer Systems will include a special version of Kurzweil VoicePad, a voice-enabled word processing application for Windows-based PCs, in their new Ready Office product line targeted at the growing tiny office and home office (TOHO) markets.

The inclusion of this special version of Kurzweil VoicePad marks the first time a stand-alone dictation product has ever been bundled with a mainstream PC. Kurzweil VoicePad will enable users to create letters, memos, reports and other documents entirely by voice.

"We are excited to be working with NEC to provide their Ready Office customers with the productivity-enhancing benefits which Kurzweil VoicePad offers," said Mark D. Flanagan, executive vice president of Kurzweil AI and general manager of the company's PC Applications Group. "These users will now be able to seamlessly integrate voice input with the keyboard and mouse, creating a natural and intuitive approach to document creation."

"Kurzweil VoicePad's ease-of-use, outstanding recognition accuracy and word processing capabilities makes it an integral part of our Ready Office product line," said Murali Dhuaran, vice president, Desktop Business Unit at NEC Computer Systems. "By empowering users to create documents by speaking to their PC, NEC provides TOHO customers with a complete and flexible computing environment."

Kurzweil VoicePad enables PC users to create text, enter data and control the word processing application by voice. Through dictation, users can create documents while also having the ability to format text, to navigate through the application's menus and dialogs, to change the application's settings, and to preview and print documents using intuitive voice commands. Additionally, Kurzweil VoicePad integrates continuous digit recognition with its discrete dictation capabilities so users can quickly and efficiently enter telephone numbers, street addresses, zip codes, dollar amounts, social security numbers and other numeric data into the documents they are creating. The product has an active vocabulary of 12,000 commonly spoken words and the ability to add 500 user-specific words. No training of the user's voice is required, and Kurzweil VoicePad can be used immediately upon installation.

NEC has teamed up with Microsoft and Intel to deliver the hardware and software necessary to run a growing business and keep it running. Configured with the Pentium and Pentium Pro processors, the NEC Ready Office product line is the first PC designed to give TOHO businesses - companies with 5 or fewer employees - the critical functions supplied by accounting, legal, administrative and MIS departments found in a large corporation. Combined with easy Internet and powerful communications capabilities, these workhorse computers will bring big business capabilities to small business. NEC's Ready Office product line is the first to offer a Pentium Pro processor to the retail market through CompUSA, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics and others.

Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc., headquartered in Waltham, Mass. was founded in 1982. The Company develops, markets and supports automated speech recognition systems used to create documents and interact with computers by voice. Kurzweil VOICE is an easy-to-use voice recognition system for Windows-based PCs, and Kurzweil VoicePad for Windows is a voice-enabled word processing application. The Company's medical reporting systems, VoiceMED and Kurzweil Clinical Reporter, are used in over 500 healthcare institutions nationwide.

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For Kurzweil AI's investor relations inquiries, contact Thomas P. Doherty at (617) 893-5151.

All product names registered herein are trademarks of their respective companies.

This news release and other information related to Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc., Kurzweil VoicePad for Windows Release 1.0, Kurzweil VOICE for Windows Release 2.0, VoiceMED and Kurzweil Clinical Reporter can be found on Kurzweil AI's web site at http://www.kurzweil.com or by calling 1.800.380.1234.

CONTACT: Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc.

Gary Davenport, 617/893-5151

garyd@kurzweil.com

or

NEC Computer Systems

Micael Wong, 415/528-5875

mwong@nectech.com