Skip to main content

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 lets you control your PC with just your voice

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 boxart
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you tend to think faster than you can type, have mobility issues that make it hard to use a mouse and keyboard, or just want to live in the future with hands-free computing, the Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 software from Nuance can take what you say and automatically turn it into text on your computer. You can even use the software to control your PC using just your voice.

You may not have heard of Nuance before, but you probably use its technology every day. In addition to its line of dictation software for consumers and professionals, Nuance powers the voice recognition in TomTom GPS, most smartphones, and hands-free control in cars.

We got the chance to see the latest version of NaturallySpeaking 12 in action at the CEA Line Show in NYC last week and were floored by how accurate it was at typing out what was said in the noisy showroom.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 screenshot
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Nuance rep, who had a headset on his head when he started talking to us about the software, would end his sentences by saying punctuation marks like “period” and “exclamation mark.” As it turns out, whatever he was saying into the headset was appearing onscreen in Word on his Windows 8-running Surface Pro preloaded with the Dragon software (as pictured). There was a slight lag between the time he would stop talking and when the text appeared on the computer, but the rep told us the delay was due to the program working extra hard to distill his words from the background noise. In addition, he was also able to apply styles, like bolding a particular word, as well as make more complicated edits like moving an entire phrase around, without reaching for his mouse or keyboard.

Hands-free typing is convenient, but users want to be able to navigate their computers in a more intuitive way than with a keyboard and mouse. Good thing this dictation software is also smart enough to let you control your computer with your voice. As long as you say keywords that appear in the menu and tool bars, the software should be able to understand what you want to do. For example, you can say “open Firefox, new tab, go to Google.com” and your computer will do just that.

NaturallySpeaking 12 Home Edition starts at $80 and works on PCs with at least a multi-core processor and 2GB RAM. If you just want to use your voice to jot down some notes on your Windows 8 tablet or PC, you can grab the recently released Dragon Notes app for $20. If you’re interested in the Premium version, you can find it here for $100, down from it’s original price of $200.

 

Editors' Recommendations

Gloria Sin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gloria’s tech journey really began when she was studying user centered design in university, and developed a love for…
Best OLED monitor deals: Get an OLED screen from just $450
Marvel's Spider-Man running on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8.

Shopping some of the best monitor deals is a good way to save on some extra screen real estate, but if you’re looking for something that can produce a stunning image you should turn your shopping cart toward the OLED monitors. OLED is one of the best picture technologies currently available, and it can create a lifelike image that makes interacting with games, presentations, and creative work much more immersive. The best OLED monitors can run pretty expensive, but that’s what OLED monitor deals are for. If you’re looking for superior picture quality and some ways to save, read onward for more details on the best OLED monitor deals taking place right now.
ViewSonic 15.6-inch VX1655 4K OLED portable monitor — $450, was $500

Getting into the OLED game can be both affordable and portable with the ViewSonic VX1655. It’s a 4K OLED display that’s made to function as either a laptop extension or something to pair with a tablet. It comes in at a super sharp 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz. This isn’t something you’d want to pair with a gaming PC, but it’s a great little display to keep with you if you do creative work on the run or want some extra screen real estate while working on a tablet at your desk.

Read more
Best monitor deals: Gaming, office, curved, OLED and more
Dell UltraSharp 27 4K PremierColor Monitor

Whether you prefer to work at one of the best desktop computers, the best laptops, or anything in between, an external monitor can be helpful to add some extra screen real estate. One of the best monitors can even go a long way toward reducing eye strain and creating an immersive digital or gaming experience. While high end monitors can get quite expensive, there are always some impressive monitor deals to shop, and we’ve tracked them all down. Reading onward you’ll find what we feel are the best monitor deals, whether you’re shopping for 4K monitors, gaming monitors, ultrawide monitors, or more general monitors meant for all-purpose users.
Best monitor deals

The following deals represent a best-of of the deals below. They're selected to give a mixture of prices, styles, and levels of discount. If you don't see something you like, don't worry, as the following sections will have plenty more deals for you to choose from. However, this is a highly recommended place to start:

Read more
7 best Chromebooks for 2024: the best for every budget
Close up of the Chrome logo on the top of a Chromebook.

Chromebooks might have a hard time competing with Windows laptops and MacBooks, but that doesn't mean they don't have their place. We've reviewed hundreds of laptops over the years, testing for important qualities like performance, battery life, and display quality — and we've found that Chromebooks consistently excel at performance and reliability.

You can find Chromebooks from Google, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and many others, and we've dug through them to put together this roundup of the best Chromebooks on the market. They're incredibly accessible devices, and for the right person, a Chromebook can be the best laptop in terms of value.

Read more