Fonix Announces Next Generation DECtalk

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Fonix® Corporation (OTC BB: FNIX), a provider of speech interface solutions, released version 5.0 of its Fonix DECtalk(tm) text-to-speech (TTS) technology. Fonix DECtalk offers small memory footprint for a full-dictionary TTS engine ideal for embedded applications. "With this release, Fonix DECtalk expands its technical leadership for the embedded and assistive markets," says John Oelfke, vice president of Fonix Everyday Speech Solutions. "Fonix DECtalk provides a standard of intelligibility and naturalness in a small footprint that surpasses competitive offerings." Applications for Fonix DECtalk include PDAs, mobile phones, automotive applications, talking devices like translators, and devices to assist people with disabilities. "These applications are typical of Fonix's current and growing customer base, and their sales make Fonix one of the leaders in the growing embedded speech market," said Oelfke. "We work with multiple OEMs, developers and integrators that generate NRE fees, run-time license fees and unit royalty fees." Fonix DECtalk 5.0 marks a step toward integrating Formant and Concatenated TTS technologies and is based on an improved vocal tract technology. Version 5.0 supports a wide array of hardware platforms (such as ARM 9 and XScale) and operating systems (such as Linux and Pocket PC). DECtalk offers nine voices and six languages (U.S. and UK English, Castilian and Latin American Spanish, and significantly improved German and French). Version 5.0 is compatible with previous DECtalk releases. Another characteristic of DECtalk 5.0 is the Unified Phoneme Set, which allows speaking in one language, switching to another language to speak one or more words, and returning to the selected language without changing language modes.