ScanSoft Releases Japanese Voice Kyoko

PEABODY, MA - ScanSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) introduced "Kyoko," a new Japanese text-to-speech (TTS) voice for its RealSpeak Solo™ 1.0 TTS for embedded applications and Speechify® 3.0 TTS software for network-based applications. Kyoko is the latest voice in ScanSoft's TTS portfolio.

"ScanSoft is the market-leading provider of network-based speech recognition systems in Japan and we're pleased that they continue to invest in the Japanese speech market," said Manoj Menon, director of Frost & Sullivan Technology Practice. "The release of Speechify Kyoko TTS in Japan is great news for Japanese businesses that are looking for new ways to maximize their existing speech investments in the call center and provide callers with a truly branded experience with speech. In addition, this will provide automotive and handset suppliers in Japan with a high-quality embedded TTS voice to create compelling new applications." Kyoko TTS delivers spoken information as a human would. Using TTS, developers can deploy applications without pre-recorded audio. "The release of Kyoko underscores our commitment to supporting our customers and partners in Japan," said Hiroshi Sakurai, general manager of Speech Solutions in Japan at ScanSoft. "Kyoko TTS provides organizations with a natural-sounding Japanese voice to enhance existing call center applications that may already be using speech recognition, or create compelling new personalized interactions between users and their automobiles, handset devices, electronic games and kiosks."