Voice Processing: L&H Introduces First Product to Combine Continuous Speech Recognition, Translation and Voice-Powered Accessories - Lernout & Hauspie's Voice XPress Ultimate Suite voice recognition software - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Feb 15, 1999

Combining the industry's leading speech and language technologies, Lernout & Hauspie (L&H), a worldwide market leader in speech and linguistic technologies, products and services, Monday introduced the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite. The L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate suite combines the award-winning L&H Voice Xpress continuous speech dictation software with L&H's translation technology and its suite of voice-powered accessories that enable users to quickly obtain information from their PC and the Internet by voice. The combined dictation, translation and voice-enabled utility software is aimed at dramatically simplifying common desktop tasks and reducing barriers to PC-based computing and communication by providing the "ultimate" combination of advanced speech and translation software. Staples Inc., the largest operator of office superstores in the world, will exclusively introduce the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite, which is expected to be generally available at all Staples office locations starting in April 1999. The L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite will be targeted at business professionals and consumers who want to create, share and obtain multilingual information using natural speech. The L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite will enable users to: o Type into virtually any Windows-based application by talking in a natural manner; o Control Microsoft Office 97 applications and the desktop by voice and issue flexible editing and formatting commands using Natural Language Technology (NLT); o Instantly translate documents, e-mails and Web sites from English to five European languages bi-directionally; o Accomplish by voice tasks like searching the Internet, scheduling meetings, and calculating numbers. "We are very pleased to bring the industry's most comprehensive combination of speech and language technologies to the market through our partnership with Staples," said Paul McNulty, vice president of the Speech and Language Applications Division at L&H. "L&H has always been a leader in developing compelling speech and language solutions, such as the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite, and our agreement with Staples ensures that they get in front of today's business and consumer users." "L&H's Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite offers a boost in productivity for all Staples customers, from the business `power' user to general consumer," said David Figler, product manager for software, Staples Inc. "Speech technology was a hot category among our small business customers throughout 1998 and we anticipate that our partnership with L&H to bring the most complete dictation and translation solution to market will only increase

this level of interest and excitement." L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite: Key Features Speech Recognition from L&H Voice Xpress: o Tight integration with Microsoft Office applications -- The product is optimized for creating, editing and formatting documents in Microsoft Word 97/95, Excel 97, PowerPoint 97 and Outlook 98. o Accurate, continuous speech recognition -- Users can dictate at a rate of up to 140 words per minute into virtually any Windows application and achieve up to 95 percent or greater accuracy. o Natural Language Technology (NLT) -- NLT offers a flexible, easy-to-use command language for editing and formatting documents, and controlling basic functions of Windows applications. o Comprehensive, customizable vocabulary -- The L&H Voice Xpress products are equipped with a 30,000-word active vocabulary that the user can expand up to 60,000 words. Translation from L&H Power Translator Pro: o Accurate sentence-based translation -- The product enables users to translate English documents, e-mails and Web sites to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. o Translate incoming and outgoing e-mail instantly -- The translation utility for e-mail supports Lotus Notes Mail, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook. o Comprehensive language reference tools -- Users can look up words to find their translation or use the inflection tool for automatic conjugations of any root word. TalkingTools--Voice-powered Accessories: o Voice WebFinder--Users can just ask a natural language question, like "What is the population of the United States?," and WebFinder will find an answer! o Voice Scheduler--Enables users to easily create appointments and review schedules by voice. o Voice AddressBook--Lets users quickly find contacts and send e-mail messages. o Voice Calculator--A completely voice-enabled calculator that makes finding the answer to a problem is as easy as saying "two plus two!" o Voice Clock -- Users can find the current time anywhere in the world with atomic accuracy. Integrated Installation, Set up and Support o L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite applications utilize a common enrollment profile, installment interface, and support. L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite: System Requirement, Pricing and Availability Minimum system requirements for the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite include: Pentium 166 MHz with MMX (Pentium II recommended). Windows 98/95, Windows NT 4.0 with service pack 3 or later. 48 MB RAM (Win 98/95), 64 MB RAM (Win NT). 250 MB hard disk space. VGA or better monitor. 16-bit sound board from Creative Labs or other Windows-compatible, 16-bit sound boards. Deluxe quality noise-canceling microphone (included). The estimated street price of L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite, which includes software on a CD-ROM, documentation, and a noise-canceling microphone, is $199.99. L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite is expected to generally be available in all Staples office locations in North America, starting April 1, 1999. Interested parties can get additional information by visiting the L&H Web site at www.lhs.com or by calling 800-380-1234. Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (L&H) is a global leader in advanced speech and language solutions for computers, automobiles, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods and the Internet. The company is making the speech user interface (SUI) the keystone of simple, convenient interaction between humans and technology, and is using advanced translation technology to break down cultural barriers. L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), digital speech and music compression (SMC) and text-to-text (translation).