Nuance Extends T9 Predictive Text Offering in Welsh

Nuance partners with leading Global Handset Manufacturer Samsung to Offer Industry’s most Pervasive Predictive Text Application in Welsh

London, UK – 3 December 2009 - Nuance Communications, Inc., today announced that it has extended its predictive text portfolio to include Nuance T9 Welsh on the Samsung SC500 device. T9 Welsh builds on Nuance’s unbeatable language portfolio – even in minority languages – making it the most pervasive application in the mobile market today.

The industry’s most trusted predictive text software will now enable Welsh consumers to unleash the full potential of their phones by maximising their messaging capabilities. Welsh speaking users of the Samsung SC500 will now be able to enjoy the benefits of predictive text in their native language, creating SMS messages much more quickly and easily than through traditional text entry. T9 Welsh shipping demonstrates Nuance’s commitment to preserving traditional regional languages, such as Catalan and Basque by making them more accessible to younger generations – who are often heavy text users.

Nuance’s language portfolio was extended as a result of a request by the Welsh Language Board after Nuance T9 recently picked up the Global Mobile Award at Mobile World Congress. The award recognised Nuance’s social and economic development initiatives, which combine technology and tradition to protect and encourage the use of a language which is core to a national identity.

“I’d like to congratulate Nuance on developing Welsh language T9 predictive text software. The way that people communicate is constantly changing – it is important that people can use Welsh as easily as they can use English, and now texting in Welsh will be as fast and as it would be in English,”said Meri Huws, Chair of the Welsh Language Board.

Operating on the Orange network, the Samsung SC500 handset will be the first to offer Nuance T9 Welsh software. Samsung is one of Nuance’s key customers, deploying its text and speech solutions globally. Its handsets support other minority languages including local Indian and South African dialects as well as regional languages in Spain such as Basque, Catalan and Galician – helping regions retain traditional linguistic and cultural identity into the 21st century.

“It’s not just about voice calls on phones today – being able to simply and intuitively send text messages is just as important, which is why Samsung relies on our T9 predictive text software to help fully cater for its customers,” said Michael Thompson, senior vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “At Nuance we continuously empower mobile users to access the wide range of applications and solutions that operators and manufactures offer, whether their language is widely spoken or a minority language like Welsh.”

Nuance’s T9 predictive text portfolio shipped on more than 4.1 billion phones to date, making it the most pervasive third-party software application in the mobile market today. It supports a variety of applications to make it faster and easier to send text messages, instant messages and email via any keypad format, including standard and touchscreen 12-key and QWERTY keypads. And because it’s adaptive and incredibly easy to use, T9 provides an increasingly personalized experience over time.

About T9

Today, Nuance’s predictive text portfolio is available in more than 80 languages and dialects; including those that today’s emerging markets depend on such as Hinglish, Chinese PTI (Phrasal Text Input) and SBI (Sentence Based Input). By incorporating T9 software into mobile communications products, companies are solving the fundamental problem of how to quickly and easily send mobile messages and browse the Web. More than 800 mobile phone models available throughout the world today include T9 software and the technology has been licensed to major consumer electronics and communications equipment manufacturers worldwide. For more information on T9, please go to http://www.nuance.com/t9.

About Nuance Mobile

Nuance Mobile builds innovative, intelligent and intuitive touch and speech interfaces to simplify and enhance the way people interact with mobile devices, applications, and services. Nuance Mobile solutions make mobile devices and in-car systems easier to use, automate customer self-service, and optimize the access and discovery of even the most advanced mobile applications and content — regardless of technical know-how, location, environment, or physical and literacy capabilities.

About Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance is a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

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