App Review: Dragon Dictation

I remember the company Dragon from way back in the '90's. They produced voice recognition software called Naturally Speaking that I played with on my trusty 286 desktop.

Well they have kept up with the times and have produced a FREE iPhone app that records a voice speaking into an Apple device and interprets it into editable text that can be copied and pasted elsewhere on the device. I had this app when it was just available in the U.S App Store but now it's available here in the U.K.

It uses a clever system that uploads your recording to a server which does the heavy computer crunching and returns to you the spoken word. It could be useful in a driving situation for something, lets say, tweeting on the M4 (legally) or an alternative to Apple's native app, Voice Memos. Also with Apple's very strong support for disadvantaged people, namely Accessibility, this app overlaps that initiative very nicely, maybe becoming something that could grow to be dependably vital for some.

Now it's not 100% precise and to be honest most of the time you might have been quicker to just type out what you wanted translating but for me, this is what I call a 'Showcase App'. It's one that you roll out to show the doubters how good your phone or iPad really is. Yes it's iPad ready too so get practising talking to your machine. Many want to see what's so good about Apple and your phone. This illustrates it perfectly. I love it.

Give it a go (iTunes Link)

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