Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Home Edition (PC)

Version 11 of this software does seem to be a major step forward. The accuracy more or less straight out of the box is very impressive and with some practice in dictating clearly and learning the command set, as well as inputting some specific words and names and analysing documents that you have previously prepared, it is entirely realistic that you can use this software for the majority of the text input that you want to make to your computer.

I was first introduced to this software via the Premium Mobile Edition which also includes the digital voice recorder. I was therefore interested try out this much cheaper home-based edition.

What you don't get in the home edition:
* the Digital voice recorder or the wireless Bluetooth microphone and headset
* dictation and command support for Microsoft excel
* highlighting of text during audio playback
* import export custom wordlists
* ability to create custom voice commands to quickly insert frequently used text and graphics.

What you do get is
* the same highly accurate speech recognition software
* the same headphone / microphone as in the Premier edition (excluding the Bluetooth setup)
* same integration with word Outlook Web browsers etc
* same ability to control many functions of PCs by simply speaking
* similar ability to personalise set up with own formatting preferences

Unless you want to make a very regular use of voice recognition within Microsoft Excel, or need the ability to transcribe from a dictation machine, I would say that this home edition will pretty much satisfy the needs of most home users and students at what is a bargain price. The ability to use a dictation machine is a good advantage on the more expensive premium version, but I have found my primary use of the software is sat in front of the computer itself.

Overall therefore I think this is a fantastic bit of software, offering the potential to totally revolutionise the way that you interact with your PC. The home edition offers a drastically reduced price whilst maintaining the most essential elements of the programme. Highly recommended, and yes I did dictate this review!

I've been using voice recognition products for the last 10 years or more - as I'm paralysed from the neck downwards, I'm absolutely reliant on voice recognition software which will both transcribe dictation accurately, and control all the applications I need.

This version of NaturallySpeaking beats everything I've tried so far (cranky old IBM ViaVoice, versions 1 to 10). Quick, accurate, copes with background noise, stable - the last version of ViaVoice used to crash my PC every session, at least - and works well with every application I've tried, so far.

The accurate transcription helps keep spontaneity (you don't have to keep stopping to correct the mistakes) and has increased my productivity many times over. For example, it's taken me just a couple of minutes to type this review. I only had to correct a few words.

Just a few moans: the contextual help isn't, well, very contextual. You really have to hunt around to find the commands that you need to say, which isn't easy when you're starting out. And I can't find a way of getting NaturallySpeaking to boot up with my user profile already loaded when I start my PC.

Otherwise, I couldn't recommend this more highly.

I have used various incarnations of voice recognition software (VRS) for many years now as I have RSI type problems and find it a real aid for inputting text. In fact I have been studying a history degree and "write" all of my assignments using VRS and really would not have been able to do so without it. I haven't had an upgrade of Dragon for a few years now so was really interested to see how good it was now...

First things first, get the CD out of the pack and install the software - this is a really simple task. Just set it up as "Typical/Complete" unless you have used Dragon before and want to change anything on a Custom setting. It took less than five minutes for me to get up and running.

The microphone headset is pretty good. In the past VRS's have been sold with quite poor headsets which meant that the software didn't perform as well as it should and I sourced better (Andrea) headset. This one however is decent quality so I stuck with it.

The software asks you a few basic questions - your age, where you come from etc just so it knows whether to expect an old American accent, a broad Australian one etc

You need to test your microphone to ensure it is the correct distance from your mouth and that it can hear you clearly (this can take a couple of attempts) . You then get to choose one from a number of texts to read out loud while the software gets to understand how you say all of these words. You can have the software check through your Word documents and e-mails to see the type of words you regularly use so that it can built up a dictionary of words for you.

You can then go into the Dragon Tutorial to try out Dragon's many features before embarking on writing your own masterpieces. The four overviews of "Getting Started", "Dictating", "Correcting and Editing" and "Using Applications" are all pretty basic but will get you used to using Dragon

It will then give you a few pointers as to the best way to site your microphone (which is a little late if you have not managed to get through the very first stage further back in this process!) It then tells you how to turn the microphone on and off and goes through what the "DragonBar" looks like and briefly tells you about all of its functions. Understanding the importance and usefulness of the DragonBar is essential to get the best use out of the software so it's worth spending a bit of time reading through this. There is then a short section on how to get help - and tips. Another useful thing to spend your time on.

Then once you're ready you can click on the microphone on the DragonBar, open up an application and start speaking! It's as easy as that! Just watch the words appear as you speak them. It will get some words wrong but it soon learns how you say specific words and gets even more accurate over time.

I have found Dragon version 11 extremely accurate. Unlike other older versions I do not keep having to go over my text to edit the mistakes that Dragon has made. I would say I found it 99% accurate so far.

Whilst writing this review I used Dragon version 11. I only had to go over three pieces of text in the whole piece. I would say it is the most accurate voice recognition software I have ever used and I recommend it wholeheartedly.