ScanSoft Introduces RealSpeak Word Solution; Revolutionary Technology for Electronic Talking Dictionary Market

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions, today introduced RealSpeak(TM) Word 1.0, a new speech solution for electronic talking dictionaries. RealSpeak Word provides a highly natural-sounding English voice that supports vocabularies up to ten times larger than competing products with no memory increase required.

Electronic talking dictionaries are very popular tools in the Asia Pacific Region, particularly for students who are eager to learn and improve their pronunciation and intonation of English words and idioms. With an electronic dictionary, a user types in the English word and it is read aloud in a native U.S. English voice. In 2003, approximately eight million talking dictionaries were sold throughout the region.

"ScanSoft has applied its expertise in embedded speech technologies to deliver a relevant, timely solution that is expected to enhance the marketability of electronic dictionaries and reduce the cost of production for manufacturers," said Audrey William, Industry Manager (Enterprise Communications) of Frost & Sullivan. "The appeal of this solution is likely to improve ScanSoft's market position in the industry, while at the same time expand their existing customer base."

Patent-Pending Technique Enables High Quality Speech Synthesis

RealSpeak Word uses a new approach to achieve high quality synthesis for predefined words and idioms. This patent-pending technique is based on a coding-by-synthesis model rather than the traditional method of recording the audio data and then using a speech coder. This traditional method requires significantly more storage memory which raises the bill of materials for the product -- or the total cost of product. For example, using coding-by-synthesis, RealSpeak Word delivers a 60,000-word vocabulary in just 3MB of storage. Competitive solutions would require about four times the memory to deliver an equivalent number of words. Additionally, RealSpeak Word can support vocabularies up to 100,000 words and more with little memory increase. RealSpeak Word will be accompanied with powerful tools to reduce the manufacturers' time to market. As a result, manufacturers benefit from a flexible system with a high quality voice and low memory footprint reducing the total cost to produce the talking dictionary.

"RealSpeak Word uses the coding-by-synthesis model providing manufacturers with numerous advantages in voice quality, wordlist flexibility and memory usage over traditional products that use prerecorded audio," said GK Chen, regional sales director for ScanSoft. "As the electronic dictionary market becomes increasingly competitive, manufacturers can enhance their offerings to customers without increasing the bill of materials."

RealSpeak(TM) Pin-Yin for Mandarin Chinese

Also introduced by ScanSoft for the talking dictionary market is RealSpeak Pin-Yin, a high quality, low footprint engine for Mandarin Chinese syllable synthesis. RealSpeak Pin-Yin also leverages RealSpeak(TM) technology and the speech synthesizer available in the current generation of SSFT6040(TM) chips.

Availability

RealSpeak Word and RealSpeak Pin-Yin are available today on the ScanSoft(R) 6040 chip for talking dictionaries, educational devices and other applications that require high quality output of isolated words. Additional information can be found at www.scansoft.com/realspeak/word. Contact your local ScanSoft representative for pricing and additional information.

About ScanSoft(R) Embedded Speech Solutions (ESS)

ScanSoft's Embedded Speech Solutions (ESS) is a leading provider of speech technologies and applications used within automobiles, handsets, consumer devices, talking dictionaries, assistive technology, and electronic games. ESS solutions provide an easy-to-use interface for communicating with devices that relieves common frustrations and hazards, or creates a compelling new form of interaction. ESS supplies its leading speech technologies and applications to companies worldwide, including Citroen, Clarion, Delphi, Ford, General Motors, Motorola, Nokia, Pioneer, Sony and Visteon. For more information, visit http://www.scansoft.com/embedded/.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes -- saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information regarding ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.ScanSoft.com.

ScanSoft, the ScanSoft logo, and RealSpeak are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.