I was flicking through my Newsstand when I came upon an article talking up Nuance Communication’s iPhone app Dragon Dictation (iTunes | free). This app reeked of me. Ever want your spoken words to magically appear as text in a document (minus the expletives shouted at that friggin’ incompetent paperclip)? Umm…YEAH!
For years, there’s been a costly application that you could run from your PC or Mac that would enable you to do just that. You say, “We need to talk about your TPS reports” and the program “types” your words verbatim.
But, the hardware required to run the program isn’t ideal for all situations. Imagine flipping out your laptop during an interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or that kid from Family Ties who just got busted for thwapin’ his roommate with a wooden stool, or in a winning interview with Charlie Sheen. No, you need somethin’ smaller. So what’s a person nerd to do? Thanks to Nuance, you only need your phone iPhone or iPad.
Since Dec 8, hundreds of thousands (lazy) people (like me) have been downloading the free dictation app. What’s the big whup? I’m gonna tell you the big whup. And if you interrupt me again, I’m going to slap you with a wet link of Chorizo.
With Dragon Dictation, I press a button, talk, press another button, and my words appear on the screen. I can then copy it to my clipboard (for use with other applications), send it to my friend (singular) as an SMS (basically the same as the first option, only the SMS app opens), or send it as an e-mail to the same singular friend (text is copied directly into the body an email). If Dragon doesn’t get it exactly right, you can click on a word and select options. And, if those options aren’t what you intended to say, you can turn on the keyboard and manually adjust the text. It’s a great app…but not without its flaws.
Since driving and texting is against the law, I opted to circumvent that bit of legislature by testing out the double D (pervert). Prior to starting the car (added that for legal reasons) I open up Dragon, hit record, start my car and hit the road.
ME (to Dragon): Talk talk talk, I’m the greatest, talk talk talk, write that down, talk talk talk…
Phone rings.
ME (on phone): Hello, yeah, uh huh, yeah, be there soon.
And like that, my spoken words were gone. WTF? I was in the middle of my Pulitzer Prize winning blog post and the friggin’ app returned to its main page. Suck! Strike one Dragon.
Upon arriving home, I decide to show my anti-iPhone iPhone-owning wife this brand new and pretty great (downgraded from awesome after the phone call incident) app. I talk into the phone (normal), the app releases a bunny (metaphor), and I walk around the room triumphantly (literally). My wife gives it a go by speaking her native Spanish into the app:
Since Dragon doesn’t speak Spanish the app reinterprets her request for food as:
DRAGON: Sure thing remember that they deal with the meaning.
I’m giving a third strike for the clunky process involved in inserting interpreted text into other applications…specifically the “send to e-mail” and “send to SMS” features. When sending the text to SMS, you have to double tap the message area and paste the text (corrected in v. 2.0). And e-mailing the text isn’t perfect either. I have to TYPE the recipient’s name and TYPE the subject heading. Seriously Dragon, between driving, eating and watching a movie, I don’t have time for typing. That’s why I’m using you!
Update 7/23/2010: Dragon Dictation has undergone some changes with the release of v. 2.0. Nuance has resolved the disappearing text issue by auto-saving when the phone rings or the app is interrupted. To compete with Vlingo they’ve integrated Facebook and Twitter posting in addition to their already incorporated e-mail, SMS and clipboard functionality (which are all accessible via a pop-up menu). Unfortunately (and unlike Vlingo which charges for SMS and e-mail) you still need to type your recipients e-mail/SMS addy in order for your message to be sent. And, probably the best news for my wife, multi-language support is coming down the pipe (although Nuance hasn’t said when only that the first language to be added will be German).
To recap, if you’re looking for a free way to be even lazier than you are, don’t mind clunkiness, like to hold your iPhone up to speakers for testing applications, want to get what your boss/loved one/friend/captive on record, then Dragon Dictation is for you. And, if you want it, you better get it soon, because when they get the bugs worked out there’s no telling if the app will stay free or cost a pretty penny, peso, euro, or taka.
Which do you prefer Dragon Dictation or Vlingo? Let me know. Post your comments below or send me an e-mail at TiTy@y2kemo.com.
Related posts:
