Hasta La Gadget!

Smartwatches – they could’ve been the next big thing, but I suppose that particular day has yet to come at this point in time. I mean, how many people do you know who actually own a Samsung Galaxy Gear timepiece that works great with the Galaxy Note 3? Sure, you can rattle off some names, but I am quite sure that the number of people you know who do not have the Galaxy Gear would outstrip those who do. Having said that, with smartphones coming with ever larger displays, how about smartwatches? I suppose it makes perfect sense to limit the size of a smartwatch’s display, but how do you enter text efficiently on a tiny screen? Nuance thinks that they have a solution in the form of Nuance Swype on a smartwatch.

Nuance is the company behind the Dragon voice recognition software as well as the Swype virtual keyboard, and they will be delivering both to the smartwatch platform. Of course, you won’t be able to find an app that can be downloaded and installed on a current smartwatch, but device manufacturers can load Nuance software onto their smartwatches in order to throw voice command support, voice input, and an on-screen keyboard with predictive input into the mix, now how about that for progress?

Swype Makes Appearance On Smartwatch original content from Ubergizmo.

Are you a lazy texter? Do you have fat fingers? Did you sleep through all of your English classes? Well, none of that matters any more with the imminent release of new software that not only autocorrects your misspelled words but also fixes your grammar mistakes.

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Nuance has long been suspected of being the driving force behind Apple’s Siri virtual assistant technology in iOS devices. However, neither Apple or Nuance have ever actually confirmed whether or not this is true, until now. Nuance CEO Paul Ricci said today during the D11 conference that the company is “a fundamental provider for Apple.”

Nuance is known for its speech-recognition software Dragon NaturallySpeaking, but it’s now confirmed that the technology is also used in Apple’s Siri. It’s been all but confirmed in the past, but this is the first time that either company has directly mentioned it. Before being acquired by Apple in 2010, Siri’s voice recognition technology was built by Nuance. However, it wasn’t clear whether or not Apple changed anything around with the tech before debuting it on the iPhone 4.

Of course, Nuance is only just a fraction of what makes up Siri. Apple’s personal digital assistant also uses data from Yelp, OpenTable and Wolfram Alpha to do a lot of the things that it does. While Siri has seen its fair share of issues in the past, Ricci thinks that virtual assistants will evolve greatly over the next few years.

During the interview at D11, Ricci says that he believes that virtual assistants will be much more useful in the future, as well as cross-platform, noting that they “will be quite robust in the most common domains that you’d like to see on a smartphone.”

He notes that virtual assistants have come a long way in the past few years, but issues still remain, specifically the real problem being “creating a virtual assistant that can understand what the user wants and take action based on anticipating those needs.” Google Now is fiercely close to accomplishing that, but it doesn’t seem like Ricci is completely satisfied with where virtual assistants are at right now.

SOURCE: AllThingsD

Nuance CEO confirms Siri involvement is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Most Android users are familiar with Swype keyboard, it is an intelligent virtual keyboard which makes typing faster as users don’t have to punch in letters like they would normally have to do. By sliding the thumb over letters that make up a certain word, user’s will be given the most accurate word suggestion based on the swiping of their thumb. Only recently the folks at Nuance released Swype 1.5 for Android and finally dropped the beta tab. This keyboard is much loved by Android users and there might be a possibility that the technology will come over to iOS. A Swype VP has confirmed that they have been holding talks with Apple on this, but no deal has been made yet.

Nuance, the owner of Swype, is already providing voice recognition technology that Apple uses in Siri. Both of these companies have a good working relationship, at least that’s what it looks like from the outside. It is said that Apple wants to make some big improvements to the iOS keyboard, it could either adop Swype altogether or license certain technologies that Swype uses. Tell us what you think, would you like having Swype or a similar keyboard technology on iOS?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Undercover Police Try To Prevent Sales Of Stolen iPhones By Launching Sting Operations, Alleged Leaked Document Shows iPhone 5S Could Launch In July,

Nuance has rolled out its latest update for Swype, bringing with it some new keyboard themes, and a few other improvements and and change. The big news, however, is that for the first time Android users can get the keyboard app from Google Play, which has a limited-time special price of $0.99, after which point you’ll have to shell out an unspecified amount.

In addition to the limited-time special pricing, Nuance is also offering a free 30-day trial, giving those who’ve never used it before a chance to find out what it’s all about. The big news aside, users will find a total of 13 keyboard designs, with two new ones being added: Holo and Artic. Living Language Dialect support has also been expanded, gaining support for more than 20 dialects. Australian users, for example, will enjoy auto-loaded words like brekky.

For Dragon Mobile Assistant, a simple method has been added that allows users to pull up the personal mobile assistant by dragging their finger between the Swype button and Dragon flame. And it’s worth noting that Swype is no longer in beta, but Nuance advises that users who want to remain in the beta program for when new features are developed can do so by hitting up Swype’s Beta page.

Nuance Mobile’s Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Thompson said, “Swype was a game changer when first unveiled, and ever since, it has continued to set the bar for intuitive and intelligent keyboard innovation … Based on the incredible success of our beta program and our vocal customers, we decided to extend the power of Swype to more Android users through Google Play. Android users deserve the best keyboard – settling for an alternative is no longer necessary.”

[via Engadget]

Swype now available via Google Play is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.