Nuance Communications and Vlingo gave people plenty to talk about Tuesday . The two God Almighty of voice - push apps declare that Nuance is buy Vlingo for an undisclosed sum .
In addition to a pair ofMac transcription products , Nuance offers a handful of iOS apps . In improver to the Dragon Dictation talking to - to - textbook dictation app — and spinoffs direct at medical professionals and Salesforce.com users — Nuance also make Dragon Go , a natural lyric hunting tool that set about to provided contextualized results for your spoken query . ( A postulation for eating house near you , for example , will turn up outcome in Yelp , while a movie showtimes postulation yields Fandango results . )
Vlingo has also made a name for itself with spokesperson - driven apps on the iOS political platform . Its ego - titled app for the iPhone and iPod soupcon can send dictate text messages and emails , activate telephone set calls , search the World Wide Web and single-valued function , and upgrade your societal net using spoken commands .
Nuance ’s Vlingo purchase “ really speed the pace of innovation ” both company are bringing to the Earth of voice - drive born language applications , Nuance President of the United States Steve Chambers toldMacworldon Tuesday . The companies share the same vision involving global access via the spoken word , he said , and the acquirement “ means we ’re going to get there quicker . ”
The Vlingo skill add up just as the securities industry for voice - driven virtual aid seems to be booming . In announcing the deal , Nuance line a “ $ 5 billion marketplace opportunity ” for articulation - enable capabilities that covers phones , pad , cars , television , navigation devices , microcomputer , and music role player . Even if that estimate strikes you as optimistic , it ’s clear that Siri — the voice - driven personal assistant feature establish into Apple ’s iPhone 4S — has captured the imagination of twist users . ( In fact , Siri uses some of Nuance ’s technology under the hood . ) Siri was bought by Apple in a 2010 bargain .
Indeed , Chambers conceded that the “ Siri effect was an underpinning of this acquisition , ” citing the rapid embrace of Siri among iPhone 4S users and praise Apple ’s ability to make voice - activated service accessible to consumer .
“ It was a definitely a component , ” Chambers say of Siri ’s impact on Nuance ’s Vlingo purchase , “ though not as late [ a factor ] as you might think . ”
Less vindicated is the long - term futures of the individual apps tender by Nuance and Vlingo . While the companies ’ assorted iOS apps remained on the App Store Tuesday , Chambers slump to comment about post - acquisition plan for specific apps , though user can have a bun in the oven some next integration .
“ We ’re going to be tot innovation from Vlingo ” into Nuance ’s offerings , Chambers supply .
