Unless some sort of added security interface is found it is hard to see widespread adoption of voice recognition among business mobile device makers such as BlackBerry, Nokia and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
There is also the concern of people being able to hear confidential information being discussed by a talking device. Do you really want everybody sitting in Starbucks or McDonald’s to hear your checking-account balance? This security hole can be corrected by the use of headsets but even those raise serious security problems. Wireless signals such as Bluetooth can be easily be intercepted and hacked.
Any company that can create voice-recognition software with a high level of security will win the battle for the talking-device market. At the present time, there is no indication that anybody has done this although Google is moving in that direction. Experts are even suggesting that Google Now could give Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Siri a tough time in the offing.
Siri, for example, couldn’t tell me what time my local Starbucks would open, but Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Now could.
Nevertheless, I still believe that Nuance is currently the leader in voice recognition, which puts it in a good position to develop such a security feature. Nuance’s expertise in talking device makes it a takeover target as well. The speculation that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) might shell out some cash for Nuance seems to be valid.
Is Nuance a Takeover Target for Microsoft?
Nuance would be a nice fit with some of Microsoft’s products such as Skype which is already widely used in business. An improved Dragon might also be a good fit with the Surface tablet and the Windows 8 operating system. Microsoft has had a hard time selling those products largely because they don’t do anything that similar offerings from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) or Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) cannot. Buying Nuance could give Microsoft the edge as it moves deeper into the tablet and personal device market.
A Final Word
Software that talks is certainly the next big application but achieving widespread acceptance is something that’s going to be harder than most people think. There are serious drawbacks to spoken communication such as privacy, speed, security and clarity that will have to be addressed. Although, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) have grown their technologies by leaps and bounds, it’s my view that Nuance is the company best positioned to address those problems because it has the most experience in the field.
The article Just Say It! Voice-Recognition Is the Next Tech Wave originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Nauman Aly.
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