Buyer's Guide

Last Modified: January 22, 2000

( Editor's Note: This topic was originally written in October of 1998. Since this topic was written, Dragon Systems has announced new Dragon NaturallySpeaking products. I still believe the advice in this topic to be fundamentally correct, but I plan on updating it soon to reflect the latest versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking currently available.)

This page outlines my personal opinions about which version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking you should buy. It represents my opinions about what features are worth extra money based on what different people need.

Most people should buy Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred Edition.

The main (useful) advantage of the Preferred Edition over the Standard Edition is the playback of recorded speech. This feature makes it easy to dictate a few pages at a time and then go back and make corrections without having to remember what you said. Needless to say, if you are planning on using a handheld recorder with Dragon NaturallySpeaking you have to get the Preferred Edition (or one of the Professional Editions) since the Standard Edition does not have NaturallyMobile.

If you are a programmer or if you are buying Dragon NaturallySpeaking because of a problem with your hands then you should buy the Professional Edition.

The main (useful) advantage of the Professional Edition over the Preferred Edition for programmers or people who need a more hands-free solution is the programmable command and control. For programmers, trust me; you will want to program your own macros even if you do not need a hands-free solution. For people who need a hands-free solution, being able to automate repetitive tasks with voice macros will save your hands.

If you are a professional who is not that comfortable with the computer then buy the Professional Edition from a good reseller.

If you buy from a good reseller, then the reseller will make sure that your system is configured optimally for Dragon NaturallySpeaking and may also offer training and support (although usually at added cost). This additional attention from a trained professional will make the difference between having a good experience and a bad experience with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Since resellers usually only sell the Professional Edition(s), you will have to buy the Profession Edition to get this extra service.

If you are a doctor or a lawyer then get the Medical Suite or the Legal Suite.

You will be buying from a reseller so you get all the advantages mentioned above. But, in addition, you will get slightly higher accuracy in your discipline and higher accuracy is worth it at any cost. (Lets be honest, Dragon NaturallySpeaking is still cheap at $995 compared to hiring people to do your transcription.)

If you are really short of money but you use Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect or want to create moderately long documents then get the Standard Edition.

You will be able to dictate directly into those applications with error correction and the Standard Edition is cheaper than the Preferred Edition. But I still think that the playback of recorded speech is worth the extra money.

If you are primarily interested in chat and e-mail, or you are really short of money, or you are looking for a nice gift then buy Point & Speak.

You will not get the features which make it possible to easily create long documents but you will get enough to dictate into a chat room. And Point & Speak is really inexpensive. However, be warned, Point & Speak does not have BestMatch technology. It will be as accurate as Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 2 but no better. Also, it gets more accurate more slowly because it tends to be more cumbersome to make corrections in a way which trains the system (i.e. with the Correction Dialog).

This web page (http://www.synapseadaptive.com/joel/BuyersGuide.html) was last modified on January 22, 2000. The contents of this page are (c) Copyright 1998-1999 by Joel Gould. All Rights Reserved. See Copyright Information for more details.