NUANCE Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Home

Pros: Works only OK, but no better than previous version. It probably still saves me some time over typing.

Cons: Accuracy 80% at most after 3 months. New problem is that when I say "strike that" it always goes 4 characters prior to selected text. Support is a forum. Problems are many and inconsistent and seem to vary greatly from user to user. Rebate is baloney, so LOOK OUT if you think you'll get one. Three months and nothing at all..

Pros: We bought this for our daughter who has dyslexia and other issues that made it very hard for her to quickly do written work. This software has been a HUGE help to her. I was expecting her to have to "train" it over time, but she was able to easily composed a 5 page book report with it the first night it was installed. With that said, it is NOT perfect, but it is definitely the best speech recognition software we've been able to find. Expect to have to do some editing on longer documents after using, but first drafts should always be edited anyway.
I am very impressed at how well it recognizes her speech, since she is young, excitable and does not always speak clearly. Excellent experience overall.

Cons: Not perfect. Don't buy this if you expect it to be perfect or if you can't tolerate editing some errors. For my daughter, I'd say it gets 98 words out of every 100 correct, and I'd say that 1/2 of those errors are caused by her mumbling. Punctuation takes some getting used to, and will require editing until you really get the hang of things. Formatting is more challenging and will probably always require manual editing. But you can get the words on the page very quickly and have plenty of time for editing. Editing is always a very important and necessary part of formal writing... this software will not change that.

Other Thoughts: Be realistic. Don't expect perfection. Be patient. You need to learn the software as much as it needs to learn your speech patterns. It WILL NOT replace your keyboard and mouse, but if you struggle with typing while composing, this will help you in a BIG way... but save time for editing, just as you normally would/should.

Pros: Great if you take the time to train it.
Multiple Dictionaries.
"OK" with accents.
Has an application to convert audio files to text (untested as of yet).

Cons: Training is essential and can take time.

Other Thoughts: I am a writer by trade. I also made the "mistake" of saving a few of my documents in PDF and needed to convert them back to word. I type "fast" (80+wpm on a slow day) but I cannot beat the quickness this can produce When Trained Properly.

Training means taking your time to read sections. Training means having it absorb your documents to scan the word base.
Training means learning about the software from online forums too.

IF You can be patient and do this--the software will be fantastic.

One added bonus for me is that I need to write a large chunk of my work from US English to UK English. Dragon does this for me by simply changing the dictionary and reading. I don't need to think about the spellings--it does it for me :)

Pros: Worked well right out of the box; Can transfer dictated text into almost any program; Commands are easy to master and allow flexibility; saves typing and spell check time

Cons: It does not work the commands for every program

Other Thoughts: This is simply a great investment. I can spend more time thinking of what I am writing and less on the mechanics of typing and spelling. I found it very easy to use. Thankfully I am not in an office so I don't have to worry about others "hearing" my emails,etc. as I dictate them.

Pros: The box is looks ok

Cons: The voice recognition is horrible, I bought this for a person with disabilities because she has a hard rime using the mouse and can only type with one hand. This program has the hardest time understanding her and she speaks clearly. It gets it right about 70% of the time.

High learning curve.

Your pc needs to be up to date with all updates inorder to install, or it just won't let you.

Other Thoughts: I saw the commercials on TV and it looks so easy to use, but it is not. I hope google makes a speech recognition for computers like the have for android. I would not recommend this software to my enemies!

Pros: I cant write to save my life but with this I can speak my papers for school saving me lots of time

Cons: It doesn't open my programs by command

Pros: None for me

Cons: Doesn't work with bluetooth Mic unless you but pro version. That part was left out,

My laptop has built in BT and have a Colipso mic connected to it and nothing

Other Thoughts: Waste of money for me.