AT&T Gets a New Voice in Windows for 2009
Today, Wizzard Software released version 4.2 of AT&T Natural Voices Text to Speech for Microsoft Windows operating systems. The announcement is the second half of a release that began with a Linux launch in December 2008.
Version 4.2 is described as a “total revision” of the 1.4 version, which was Wizzard and AT&T’s last commercial offering.
Wizzard expects to draw most of its sales from the Windows version, despite the product being released some months after the Linux version. The cause of the delay, explains Bruce Phifer, general manager of Wizzard, is that AT&T works in a “more Linux-centric” environment. When Wizzard got 4.2 from AT&T, the product was much closer to being market-ready for Linux. In contrast, more work was required to port the solution into Windows and to ensure full compatibility.
While much of the underlying engine structure remains the same, version 4.2 brings users an overhaul of interface and voice fonts, making the fonts far more natural, Wizzard claims. There are 20 fonts total in a range of eight languages. U.S. English, in particular, saw significant revision for the release. “Mike” and “Crystal,” the most popular voices in U.S. English, have changed the most and are promised to have stronger enunciation.
Version 4.2 also adds Italian to the stable of languages supported by the software. When asked if this was a gesture to challenge Loquendo’s text-to-speech (TTS) engine on its own native Italian turf, Phifer demurred.
“They have a very good product, there’s no question,” he concedes. “Their pricing scheme and costs to deploy are obscene.”
Still, Phifer doesn’t expect to challenge Loquendo in Italy or even go after Italy specifically. Rather, by adding Italian, Wizzard is trying to meet demands for a wider offering of European languages.
“There aren’t too many companies—if any—that would be interested in shipping Spanish, German, U.K. English, and French, without including Italian. It’s part of the European picture,” Phifer says.
The Italian inclusion is really an effort to satisfy customers who do business internationally.
Still, Phifer cites the wide difference in price points between Wizzard and Loquendo’s offerings as an explanation for Wizzard’s focus on maintaining low overhead. Wizzard spends far less on marketing, sales, delivery, and support than its competitors and is priced lower.
“We don’t have salespeople calling on people and visiting and doing demos and going to shows,” he says. “We have a really good technology at a very compelling price. That’s been our strategy from the very beginning.”
The company relies on word of mouth and the strength of AT&T’s name and technological standing to sell its product.
“Our biggest problem is being discovered because we’re not out there beating on doors, talking to people,” Phifer says. “But once people find us, the sale is much easier."