ScanSoft ships Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solutions Version 6 in the UK

Industry-leading software Integrates Best of Breed Technology to Deliver the Most Accurate and Powerful Speech Recognition Software Available

ALMERE, The Netherlands - February 19, 2002 - ScanSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions, today announced the shipment of Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solution Version 6, the latest version of the award-winning speech recognition software for professional markets in the UK. The result of the successful integration of Dragon NaturallySpeaking® and Voice Xpress™ technologies, the Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solution software is the most comprehensive offering in the family of ScanSoft's continuous speech recognition products. The product is now available through ScanSoft's network of Value Added Resellers (VARs) across the United Kingdom.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Professional Solutions for World English offers professional users productivity enhancements and time-saving features for document creation, e-mail composition, form completion, and many other writing tasks.

Based on extensive customer feedback is the Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solution Series Version 6 software more intuitive and easier to use. Not only can users operate a PC hands-free, but new features and accuracy improvements allow professionals to dictate at a rate of up to 160 words per minute with a high level of accuracy.

Some of the new and/or enhanced features and functions of the Version 6 software include:

• Improved Accuracy -A new Acoustic Optimizer improves voice recognition, and the Nothing But Speech (NBS)™ feature filters out inadvertent utterances like "uhms" and "ahs."
• Natural language commands can be used with virtually all programs - Execute commands in office productivity applications such as Microsoft® Office (including the new XP version). Corel® WordPerfect®, Microsoft® Outlook®, and others, without having to learn a special command vocabulary. Popular commands can be displayed on screen in each program to assist in dictation.
• State-of-the-art Text-to-Speech with RealSpeak™ - Scansoft's award-winning text-to-speech engine provides a human-sounding synthetic voice for editing documents or listening to e-mail messages.
• The ability to create customized voice commands (macros)- Sophisticated operations can be executed using simple voice commands. Corporate developers can automate complex tasks and integrate voice into their existing applications using a Microsoft® VBA-compatible scripting language.

"ScanSoft will deliver the best in speech recognition technology with the latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 6. We are now shipping a product that offers incredible accuracy and the most complete set of productivity features available today," said Peter Hauser, Sr Vice President and General Manager International. "Powerful distribution partnerships with specialized partners are key for us, we combine our partners' extensive local market knowledge and experience."

Specialized VARs in the UK also offer a Medical Vocabulary included with Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional Solutions v6, herewith extending the value of speech recognition in the medical market.

"Using Dragon Naturally Speaking, I was able to implement voice recognition in my hospital for the production of radiological reports. The simple scripting and keyboard emulation facilities enabled straightforward integration with the existing radiology information system, which did not require any custom modifications," commented radiologist Dave Harvey from FRCR. "This system was well accepted by other radiologists, and enabled reports to be authorised and delivered to the requesting clinicians much faster than had been possible with traditional transcription."

Product Features and Benefits

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solution Series Version 6 includes new and improved features to make it both easier to use and more accurate. These features include an extensive set of new voice commands to browse the Web and manage e-mail navigation. The software is versatile, users can easily use it to create documents directly in virtually all Windows®-based applications. The winner of more than 140 major awards worldwide, the Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solution Series software continues to lead the speech recognition category for accuracy and ease of use.

Key Benefits include:

• The industry's highest accuracy rate for converting voice to text;
• Specialized vocabularies for medical, legal and public safety users (within the market focused products), vocabularies that contain the words, acronyms, and phrases needed to increase accuracy and improve ease of use;
• Versatility that enables the software to be used in conjunction with virtually any Windows® -based application;
• An extensive vocabulary consisting of over 250,000 words that can be modified to meet a user's particular needs;
• Advanced mobile transcription features allowing users to create documents while away from the office, and save created documents with associated voice files for outside transcription, as well as listen to e-mails and other documents that can be read aloud by the software;
• Navigation of the Web by voice; and,
• Dramatically lower transcription errors as a result of a filtering process that eliminates unintentional utterances such as "uhms" and "ahs."

System Requirements

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Solution Version 6 software supports dictation in Microsoft® Office, Corel® WordPerfect®, Lotus Notes®, and virtually all Windows®-based applications. Version 6 requires an Intel® Pentium® II /400 MHz processor (or equivalent AMD® processor) or faster, and at least 128 MB RAM is required. A minimum of 300 MB free disk space is needed for installation. In addition, an ScanSoft-certified sound card, CD-ROM drive, and speakers are required. Visit our Web site at www.scansoft.com for the latest hardware compatibility list. A ScanSoft approved noise-cancelling headset microphone, which is also required, is included.

The Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software has been optimized for a variety of popular processors, including the Intel® Pentium® 4, Pentium® III, Pentium® II, Pentium® with MMX™, Intel® Celeron™, AMD K6®-2, AMD K6®-III with 3DNow!™, and AMD Athlon™, among others.

About ScanSoft Inc.

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information regarding ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.scansoft.com.

Trademark reference: ScanSoft, PaperPort, PaperPort Deluxe, PaperPortOnline, SimpleSearch, OmniPage, OmniPage Pro, TextBridge, Pagis, OmniForm, eOmniForm and Developer's Kit 2000, RealSpeak, Dragon NaturallySpeaking are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and trade names mentioned are hereby recognized and may be registered to their respective holders.

The Company notes that the statements in this release that relate to future plans, events, performance, including without limitation the projected shipment dates, customers' opting to upgrade to newer or more fully featured products are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market acceptance, engineering delays, quality assurance testing delays, contractual negotiations, successful completion of beta site testing, the scheduling of orders, changes in operating systems, a significant change in the competitive environment, timely delivery by component suppliers and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. Readers are cautioned not to place undo reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

Contact