Dragon Dictation for iPhone - speak your texts, emails, anything...

Jonny Evans
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December 08, 2009
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This is great: Dragon Dictation has come to the iPhone, a superb solution that lets you speak your text/emails into your Apple mobile.

This App is powered by Dragon Naturally Speaking - the same highly-effective speech to text engine which powers MacSpeech (itself a life-saving product for many, particularly those with damaged/broken arms).

How it works:

  • Dragon Dictation for iPhone allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages, with the company claiming this is up to 5 times faster than typing on the keyboard.
  • Voice-to-text transcriptions that may be sent as SMS, Email, or pasted into any application on your iPhone using the clipboard
  • Convenient editing feature that provides a list of suggested words
  • Voice driven correction interface
  • You can dictate anything and drop it anywhere using the iPhone clipboard feature. Start, stop, start again: long e-mails, short messages, a note, a post, whatever you want.

 

With Dragon Dictation you can also update your Facebook status, send notes and reminders to yourself, or Tweet to the world….all using your voice.

Announcing the App, Michael Thompson, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Nuance Mobile said: “I'm thrilled to announce the availability of Dragon Dictation on the iPhone. What a cool application! In fact, I'm dictating this entire blog directly into my iPhone.”

The application is available now through the US store.

Update: Good and highly amusing review of this App from Andy Ihnatko is available here.

Comments (26)

Steve - UK (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 2:13am

Any ideas when it will be made available in the UK :(

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 6:43am

Not in Croatia either- according to YouTube. Does it work with 3G or is it 3Gs only? 

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 3:14am

A must have for those of us that like to email and text while driving down the road.......

krisr (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 4:30am

I've been hoping something like this would appear for my iPhone, especially as I am already a dragon user on my PC.  Now, why do you have to be in the US to be able to download it?  Nonsense.  I believe it is currently free, but if the app is up to scratch I would gladly pay something for it.


 

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 5:16am

how much is it?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 6:37am

The app is free but it is available only in US App Store and works with iPhone only. The most important part is that the app will upload your entire address book contacts to their remote server. Be aware.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 6:47am

This is crap, it sends address book info off your iphone to Dragon

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 7:59am

Why on earth would it do that? Isn't this exactly the kind of behaviour that Apple have been stamping out recently? If Apple have passed this app, then aren't we just making a big fuss (again)?

BTW, I'd happily pay £20-£30 for an app on the iPhone like Dragon! I hate typing! 

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 8:15am

Please, Dragon, make a version of Naturally Speaking 10 that has the same elegant simplicity for Word and Pages users using Mac computers. If the App is as truly brilliant as the video suggests, then it is now ready for prime time. I can't wait to get it. 

MacSERV (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 9:07am

They grab only the names in your address book, nothing more (no email addresses, phone numbers, or other info).  This is so that they can correctly spell the names you speak.  I did a test earlier with the name "Jeannie", and it got it right on the first try.  If that name was not in my address book on my iPhone, I can guarantee you it would have botched it.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 9:57am

No support for the iPod touch?  Seriously?  Come on Dragon...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 11:46am

the ipod touch has no mic you moron....

<ike (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 2:40pm

The ipod touch comes with a mic you moron

It has a pre-installed app that allows you to record voice memos you moron

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 10, 2009 - 11:17am

You are all idiots.  The iPod Touch does NOT have a mic, however, it has support for external mics (like Apple's In-Ear Headphones).  Evernote, for example, doesnot let you record audio with only the Touch but you can with headphones.

Ells (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 11:46am

It's free in the US but only for Iphone Software 3.1 and above. I'm still on 3.0 and NOT upgrading. :) Darn.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 6:16pm

They had to be a catch to it, this app being free was just too good to be true, you get the free app and they harvest all your informatiom from you iphone, and to the guy who thinks they are only collecting names and nothing else, I say to that "POPPY COCK", even if that was the case, they have no right to  collect any information  from your device  with out first asking you and giving the option to opt out. That whole idea SUCKS. it's a good thing that I have a firewall on my device or these bastards would've had all my information. collecting my personal information just so you can spell a name correct is not aceptable.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 19, 2009 - 8:09am

They take only the names from your contact list, nothing else, and you have the option to not allow even that.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 7:52pm

I definitely want to get this!
I am satisfied with my current phone and phone service however.
Does anyone know how inexpensively I can obtain an iPhone (and old model would do) that I could just use this software on? Thanks in advance for your help.  By the way this message was dictated using Mac speech.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 08, 2009 - 9:27pm

I love when people refer to others as "morons" when it's they who do not have the facts straight.  It kills me.

Option (not verified) | December 09, 2009 - 7:52am

The US app absolutely warns about the contact info upload on the beginning screen and proceeds to launch only if you accept the EULA. It is not a behind-the-screens attempt. I highly doubt that the info will be put to unintended use, but maybe I'm just naive.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 09, 2009 - 5:00pm

The US app does warn about the contact info upload on the beginning screen and proceeds to launch only if you accept the EULA, but that is not an option in the sense of the word, you are being coerce into accepting that one sided agreement, think about it, you either allow them to harvest your information or you don’t use they app, not much of a choice, is it?..It is not a behind-the-screens attempt, but they are hedging their bets that you want the app so much, that you are going to accept the EULA and allow them harvest you information, and that is dishonest and unethical business practice.

I’m not going to get into what they are actually doing with your information, because that’s a topic for another forum, I will! However say, that we should be a little more paranoid and a little less naïve.

Touch User (not verified) | December 09, 2009 - 11:25pm

 

I can't believe this won't work on the Touch!!!! What is the matter with Dragon?

I'd love to have an iPhone, but AT&T's coverage stinks where I live, so I have to use a Touch.

 

PLEASE WRITE NUANCE SOFTWARE and tell them to make this available for Touch users!

Leah (not verified) | December 16, 2009 - 5:33am

iPodTouch does not have a built in hardware microphone.  However, if anyone from Dragon is reading the comments - many of us with iPodTouch devices have earbuds which include a microphone, allowing us to record.  It would be great to have the app for the iPodTouch.

 

Thanks!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | December 22, 2009 - 3:29pm

[to those who dont know, it is possible to spoof iphone os to trick the dragon dication to install on the ipod touch..]

however, i think they should allow it by default, because as most here say, there is a MICROPHONE on the ipod touch. the terminology is so stupid here, makes no difference if it is hardware or software microphone, internal or external, none of that makes any sense, it just proves you are all morons. the fact is, both the ipod touch 3g and iphone have microphones, ie both can allow audio to be recorded!!! how hard is that for u morans to understand?!? so. the ipod touch DOES have a MIC!! omfg..

i think they did it because of those morans who have an old ipod touch which dont have a microphone, and they will end up leaving bad reviews because they couldnt figure out that they have to speak with their mouths into a dictation programme.

Matt Brockwell (not verified) | December 25, 2009 - 6:02pm

thanks for tip re: "spoofing" iphone OS. is this hard to do? would you by any chance be able to explain just what this entails? am currently working on trying to do just that, would truly appreciate any pointers.

much appreciated - sincerely, an ipod touch user who wants to dictate

stevet777 (not verified) | December 29, 2009 - 2:13pm

I can't wait until its out in the UK..