Dictaphone Introduces Digital Voice Recorder for Mobile Professionals

Business Wire, Sept 24, 1998

STRATFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 1998--

Walkabout Tour Captures Every Word and Brings Voice to Your PC

Dictaphone Corporation today introduced the Walkabout(tm) Tour, a hand-held digital recorder with removable Voicedata(tm) cards that captures voice on-the-go and easily transfers the voice file to the PC. With the Tour, recording and sharing correspondence, notes, meetings and telephone calls has never been easier. These standard WAV files can be played on any Windows(R) 95/98/NT PC.

The Walkabout Tour's sleek, push-button interface enables doctors, lawyers, writers or other business executives to record dictations or meetings without being tethered to a computer or laptop. These voice documents are then easily sent for transcription by a secretary using Boomerang Transcription.

"In the fast-paced, high-technology business world of today, the ability to record and send voice is a powerful tool," explained Tim Butler, Dictaphone's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Integrated Voice Systems. "Although we are in an age of pagers, e-mail and faxes, professionals continue to depend on voice as the most reliable form of communication. The Walkabout Tour allows professionals to easily get work done on the go.'"

Key Benefits

Walkabout Tour, which incorporates a hand-held digital recorder, Voicedata cards, a PCMCIA adapter and Boomerang(tm) Voice Exchange software, includes the following unique benefits:

-- Mobile Dictation. Professionals can create digital voice files in

or out of the office without being tethered to a computer or

laptop, thereby giving them the ability to save dictation at a

moment's notice without sacrificing mobility.

-- Voice Document Editing. Users are given complete flexibility to

edit or append voice documents when they need to -- either

"on-the-run" or in the office.

-- Transfer of Voice Files. With the PCMCIA-compatible Voicedata

cards, users can effortlessly upload voice files onto their

laptop, where they can be edited as necessary or forwarded to

other PCs via e-mail.

Portability of Voice/Data Technology

The Walkabout Tour saves information directly onto a removable Voicedata card, which offers a minimum of 30 minutes (2 MB) of recording time. Higher capacity cards -- with up to 2 1/2 hours of accessible space -- are also available to capture longer recordings.

Recorded information, which is time/date stamped and organized into individual files, can then be moved and/or appended without copying over existing material. Additionally, by simply removing the card and inserting it into a Walkabout Voicedata drive, the voice files can be loaded onto a PC desktop. PC Compatibility

Once on the computer desktop, voice records can be manipulated through Dictaphone's Boomerang Voice Exchange software. Dictation can be easily edited and networked to other PCs via e-mail. Additionally, optional software packages such as Boomerang Transcribe allow PCs to function as transcribers, giving users the ability to access, manage and playback voice files with headset and foot pedal controls.

Pricing and Availability

The Walkabout Tour mobile voice processing package includes a hand-held voice processor, a PCMCIA Adapter, a 30-minute Voicedata card and Boomerang Voice Exchange software. It is now available through Dictaphone's direct sales force, Dictaphone Direct Catalog, authorized Dictaphone Dealers, independent dealers and retailers, and the Internet. Walkabout is sold at a suggested retail price of $479. About Dictaphone

Dictaphone is a leader in the development, manufacturing, marketing, service and support of Integrated Voice and Data Management (IVDM)(tm) systems and software, which include dictation, voice processing, voice response, unified messaging, records management and communications recording. Dictaphone has a worldwide marketing, sales, service and support organization of more than 1,600 representatives in more than 190 U.S. cities, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy, and dedicated dealers in 40 other countries. Company sales revenues in 1997 were approximately $340 million. For more information about Walkabout or other Dictaphone products, visit us on the Internet at http://www.dictaphone.com or by calling 888.ivdm.com (888.483.6266). Information Contact

For additional information on Dictaphone, please contact Steve Rothschild at 3191 Broadbridge Avenue, Stratford, CT 06614. Tel: (800) 447-7749. Press inquires can be directed to Stacy Calder or Sal Barcia, Technology Solutions for Dictaphone, at (212) 696-2000.

Windows 95 is either a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.