LHSPF news ..........
Home - Yahoo! - Help
Monday February 8, 9:10 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
L&H Introduces First Product to
Combine Continuous Speech
Recognition, Translation and
Voice-Powered Accessories
Announces Partnership with Staples to Distribute New L&H Voice Xpress(tm)
"Ultimate Suite," Product Simplifies Common Desktop Tasks, Translates
E-mail, Documents & Web Sites
BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 1999-- Combining the industry's leading
speech and language technologies, Lernout & Hauspie (NASDAQ:LHSPF, EASDAQ:LHSP)
(L&H(tm)), a worldwide market leader in speech and linguistic technologies, products and services,
today introduced the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite. The L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate suite
combines the award-winning L&H Voice Xpress continuous speech dictation software with L&H's
translation technology and its suite of voice-powered accessories that enable users to quickly obtain
information from their PC and the Internet by voice. The combined dictation, translation and
voice-enabled utility software is aimed at dramatically simplifying common desktop tasks and
reducing barriers to PC-based computing and communication by providing the ''ultimate''
combination of advanced speech and translation software. Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS - news),
the largest operator of office superstores in the world, will exclusively introduce the L&H Voice
Xpress Ultimate Suite, which is expected to be generally available at all Staples office locations
starting in April 1999.
The L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite will be targeted at business professionals and consumers
who want to create, share and obtain multilingual information using natural speech. The L&H Voice
Xpress Ultimate Suite will enable users to:
--Type into virtually any Windows-based application by talking in a natural manner;
--Control Microsoft Office 97 applications and the desktop by voice and issue flexible editing and
formatting commands using Natural Language Technology (NLT);
--Instantly translate documents, e-mails and Web sites from English to five European languages
bi-directionally;
--Accomplish by voice tasks like searching the Internet, scheduling meetings, and calculating
numbers.
''We are very pleased to bring the industry's most comprehensive combination of speech and
language technologies to the market through our partnership with Staples,'' said Paul McNulty, vice
president of the Speech and Language Applications Division at L&H. ''L&H has always been a
leader in developing compelling speech and language solutions, such as the L&H Voice Xpress
Ultimate Suite, and our agreement with Staples ensures that they get in front of today's business and
consumer users.''
''L&H's Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite offers a boost in productivity for all Staples customers, from
the business 'power' user to general consumer,'' said David Figler, product manager for software,
Staples Inc. ''Speech technology was a hot category among our small business customers
throughout 1998 and we anticipate that our partnership with L&H to bring the most complete
dictation and translation solution to market will only increase this level of interest and excitement.''
L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite: Key Features
Speech Recognition from L&H Voice Xpress:
--Tight integration with Microsoft Office applications -- The product is optimized for creating, editing
and formatting documents in Microsoft Word 97/95, Excel 97, PowerPoint 97 and Outlook 98.
--Accurate, continuous speech recognition -- Users can dictate at a rate of up to 140 words per
minute into virtually any Windows application and achieve up to 95 percent or greater accuracy.
--Natural Language Technology(tm) (NLT) -- NLT offers a flexible, easy-to-use command
language for editing and formatting documents, and controlling basic functions of Windows
applications.
--Comprehensive, customizable vocabulary -- The L&H Voice Xpress products are equipped with
a 30,000-word active vocabulary that the user can expand up to 60,000 words.
Translation from L&H Power Translator Pro:
--Accurate sentence-based translation -- The product enables users to translate English documents,
e-mails and Web sites to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
--Translate incoming and outgoing e-mail instantly -- The translation utility for e-mail supports Lotus
Notes Mail, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook.
--Comprehensive language reference tools -- Users can look up words to find their translation or
use the inflection tool for automatic conjugations of any root word.
TalkingTools(tm)--Voice-powered Accessories:
--Voice WebFinder(tm)--Users can just ask a natural language question, like ''What is the
population of the United States?,'' and WebFinder will find an answer!
--Voice Scheduler(tm)--Enables users to easily create appointments and review schedules by voice.
--Voice AddressBook(tm)--Lets users quickly find contacts and send e-mail messages.
--Voice Calculator(tm)--A completely voice-enabled calculator that makes finding the answer to a
problem is as easy as saying ''two plus two!''
--Voice Clock(tm) -- Users can find the current time anywhere in the world with atomic accuracy.
Integrated Installation, Set up and Support
--L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite applications utilize a common enrollment profile, installment
interface, and support.
L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite: System Requirement, Pricing and Availability
Minimum system requirements for the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite include: Pentium® 166
MHz with MMX(tm) (Pentium II recommended). Windows 98/95, Windows NT 4.0 with service
pack 3 or later. 48 MB RAM (Win 98/95), 64 MB RAM (Win NT). 250 MB hard disk space.
VGA or better monitor. 16-bit sound board from Creative® Labs or other Windows-compatible,
16-bit sound boards. Deluxe quality noise-canceling microphone (included).
The estimated street price of L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite, which includes software on a
CD-ROM, documentation, and a noise-canceling microphone, is $199.99. L&H Voice Xpress
Ultimate Suite is expected to generally be available in all Staples office locations in North America,
starting April 1, 1999. Interested parties can get additional information by visiting the L&H Web site
at www.lhs.com or by calling 800-380-1234.
About Lernout & Hauspie
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (L&H) is a global leader in advanced speech and language
solutions for computers, automobiles, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods
and the Internet. The company is making the speech user interface (SUI) the keystone of simple,
convenient interaction between humans and technology, and is using advanced translation technology
to break down cultural barriers. L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic
speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), digital speech and music compression (SMC) and
text-to-text (translation). For more information, please visit Lernout & Hauspie on the World Wide
Web at www.lhs.com.
This press release contains forward-looking information. Such statements include, without limitation
but not limited to statements involving L&H's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions regarding
the introduction of the L&H Voice Xpress Ultimate Suite. There can be no assurance that actual
results will not be materially different than those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
Readers are cautioned that such forward- looking statements involve risk and uncertainties,
including, with limitation, the risk that the company or one or more of the companies licensees will
not successfully complete the development of these products on a timely basis, if at all, that the
technologies will not perform as anticipated, and the general risks associated with the intense
competition and rapid technological change characteristic of the speech technology market. The
forward-looking statements are also subject to risks set forth in L&H's reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only
as of the date of this Report. L&H expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in L&H's expectations
or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. All
product names and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of L&H or their respective owners.
Contact:
Lernout & Hauspie
Audrey Pobre, 781/203-5341
apobre@lhs.com
or
Jim Williams, 781/203-5103
jwilliams@lhs.com
More Quotes
and News:
LHSP - news
Lernout En Hauspie Speech Products (Nasdaq:LHSPF - news)
Staples Inc (Nasdaq:SPLS - news)
Related News Categories: computers, internet, telecom
Help
Copyright © 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved. All the news releases provided by Business Wire are
copyrighted. Any forms of copying other than an individual user's personal reference without express written
permission is prohibited. Further distribution of these materials is strictly forbidden, including but not limited to,
posting, emailing, faxing, archiving ina public database, redistributing via a computer network or in a printed form.
See our Important Disclaimers and Legal Information.
Questions or Comments?
|
