This sounds huge:
Thursday January 8, 9:16 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Lernout & Hauspie To Provide Speech Technology For Auto PC Powered
By Windows CE
Announcement Bolsters L&H's Position in Key Automotive Application Market With Support of
Microsoft Windows CE
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 1998-- Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (NASDAQ:LHSPF,
EASDAQ:LHSP-ED) (L&H) today announced that its speech technology is now compatible with SAPI on Microsoft's
Windows CE. This includes L&H's text-to-speech (TTS) 3000 and automatic speech recognition (ASR) 200 software, which
have been licensed to Microsoft. L&H's SAPI-compliant speech technology conforms to Microsoft's speech technology
standard and now allows users to activate and control Windows CE applications by voice, including the Auto PC.
''We are extremely pleased to support the Auto PC powered by Microsoft Windows CE,'' said Gerry Calabrese, president of
L&H's Core Technology Division. ''The automotive market is a key area for L&H and we are confident that applications built
for Auto PC will drive consumer acceptance of speech recognition technology by providing immediate, tangible benefits to the
end user.''
''Microsoft has recognized that speech is a very beneficial user interface for applications in the automotive market,'' said Harel
Kodesh, general manager, consumer appliances group at Microsoft. ''We are pleased that L&H is extending its speech
products to Microsoft's Windows CE with its SAPI-compatible speech technology for the Auto PC.''
In November 1996, Microsoft first announced its intention to license L&H's speech technology. In September od 1997,
Microsoft invested $45 million in L&H, taking an 8 percent stake in the company. Now, with the announcement of the Auto
PC, L&H is pleased to announce a port of its technology licensed to Microsoft is available for Windows CE, an operating
system that is fast becoming the developers' choice for consumer devices.
Microsoft's Windows CE is a Win32 API-based, preemptive, multitasking, graphical, high-connectivity operating system
designed specifically for embedded applications, which enables lower development costs and shorter time to a broader market.
L&H's ASR200 engine provides noise-robust speaker independent recognition in multiple languages, allowing embedded
applications to recognize and respond to spoken words without training. L&H TTS provides applications with the ability to
generate synthetic speech from text, with support for multiple languages and intelligent text processing.
About Lernout & Hauspie
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (L&H) is an international leader in the development of advanced speech technology for
various commercial applications and products. The company is divided into four main divisions: core technologies; translation
services and products; Internet services; and dictation, a division dedicated to discrete and continuous speech offerings. Its four
core technologies are automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS) and digital speech compression and
text-to-text (translation).
The company has its worldwide headquarters in Ieper, Belgium, its U.S. headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts and
international sales offices throughout Asia.
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This News Release contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, including statements about each
company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Such statements include, without limitation, discussions concerning the
ability to accelerate development of certain products. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks
and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following risks with respect to L&H -- L&H's reliance on customers to
generate recurring revenues, the early stage of the speech technology market, the management of growth, the successful use and
availability of its technology on Windows CE, integration of L&H's recent acquisitions, the ability of L&H to develop and
successfully market new products, rapid technological change and competition. Such risks are described in greater detail in
L&H's filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this News Release
and L&H expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to
reflect any change in the company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstance on which any such
statement is based. |
