Thursday June 25, 8:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Lernout & Hauspie's New Voice Xpress Plus Software Selected as a
Partner for Microsoft Windows 98 Launch
L&H's Voice Xpress Plus(tm) Speech Software With NLT Allows Users to Dictate, Format and
Edit Documents in Microsoft Word on New Windows 98 Platform
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINSESS WIRE)--June 25, 1998-- Lernout & Hauspie (NASDAQ:LHSPF,
EASDAQ:LHSP.ED) (L&H), a worldwide market leader in speech and linguistic technologies, products and services, today
participated as an official partner in the launch of Microsoft Windows 98. As an official Microsoft Windows 98 launch partner,
L&H's new L&H Voice Xpress Plus speech software will be promoted by Microsoft to millions of users as a premier product
that utilizes the benefits of Windows 98. L&H Voice Xpress Plus is the first software product to combine continuous speech
recognition and Natural Language Technology (NLT) to enable document creation in Microsoft Word, including formatting and
editing. The product, in addition to supporting Microsoft's Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI), has
incorporated specific extensions to Microsoft's speech platform that support NLT's advanced functionality and leverage the
power of the Windows 98 platform. The estimated street price for L&H Voice Xpress Plus, which includes software on a
CD-ROM, documentation, and a noise-canceling microphone, is $99.99.
''Just as Windows 98 aims to make consumer PC's work better and play better, our new L&H Voice Xpress Plus continuous
dictation software makes it easier for consumers to create, edit and format documents on a PC,'' said Koen Bouwers, president
of L&H's Dictation Division. ''Together, our products are bringing the power of computing to new business and consumer
audiences by combining a powerful platform with the most natural, intuitive interface for creating documents on a PC -- human
speech.''
''We are very pleased to have L&H on board for the launch of Windows 98,'' said Rob Bennett, Group Product Manager,
Microsoft Corp [Nasdaq:MSFT - news]. ''By using the Windows 98 Active Accessibility API, L&H's Voice Xpress Plus
continuous dictation software makes creating documents extremely simple and natural for users of Windows 98.''
L&H to Participate in Microsoft Windows 98 Launch
As an official Partner for the Windows 98 Launch Program, L&H will participate in a variety of co-marketing activities
designed to highlight the benefits L&H Voice Xpress Plus software running on Microsoft's Windows 98 operating system.
These activities include: participation in today's flagship launch event, opportunities at local field and retail launch events and
links to the Windows 98 virtual Web launch.
Microsoft Windows 98, a critical member of Windows family that delivers simplicity, lower computing costs, and new usage
scenarios, will maximize the performance of L&H Voice Xpress Plus with several of its enhanced features. In addition to
enabling the widest possible audience of PC users to experience speech recognition, the increased multimedia support offered
by Microsoft Windows 98 is expected to enhance L&H Voice Xpress Plus speech input process, improve voice recognition on
laptop systems and make the task of installing a microphone more intuitive for the user. As high-quality Universal Serial Bus
(USB) microphones, which are supported by Windows 98, become available on the market, computers are expected to obtain
higher levels of speech recognition accuracy.
L&H Voice Xpress Plus is a continuous dictation product aimed at the general consumer market and first in the industry to
employ L&H's breakthrough NLT. NLT is a form of artificial intelligence that allows L&H Voice Xpress Plus to interpret users'
commands and format a document as intended. Because NLT makes editing and formatting more intuitive, users can access
much of the functionality found in Microsoft Word with voice commands.
The estimated street price for L&H Voice Xpress Plus, which includes software on a CD-ROM, documentation, and a
noise-canceling microphone is $99.99. Designed for Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95 or Windows NT(R) 4.0 or higher, minimum
system requirements include a Pentium(R) 166 MHz with MMX; 48 MB RAM; 130 MB hard disk space; VGA or better
monitor; a 16-bit sound board from Creative Labs or other Windows-compatible 16-bit soundcard. L&H Voice Xpress Plus
is available in over 3,500 retail locations in North America, including CompUSA, Computer City, Staples, Fry's & Best Buy.
Interested parties can get additional information and send feedback 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 an international leader in the development of advanced speech technology for
various commercial applications and products. The company is divided into four divisions: core speech technologies; dictation,
a division dedicated to discrete and continuous speech offerings; translation and localization; and language technologies. Its four
core technologies are automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), 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.
L&H to Participate in Microsoft Windows 98 Launch |
