[access-uk] Nuance TALKS 4.0 is released

From: James Scholes <james@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:40:29 +0000

TALKS&ZOOMS Version 4.00 - Release Notification
1. Introduction
We proudly announce the release of the Nuance Accessibility Suite – Nuance
TALKS and Nuance ZOOMS – Version 4.00 for Series 60 2nd and 3rd Edition for
March 11th, 2009.

This version also includes the first release of Nuance Daisy2Go, our DAISY
audio+text book player. The player can be used on any phone that has a license
which is valid for TALKS&ZOOMS or TALKS Premium Edition 4.00.

Version 4 is a free upgrade for all Premium Edition licenses generated after
November 13th, 2007.
2. The new handsets
2.1. Changes to the list of supported phone models
The following handsets are newly supported (please see section 4 “Known Issues”
about some limitations):

Nokia 6650
Nokia E66
Nokia E71
Nokia N79
Nokia N85
Nokia N96

At the same time, any 1st Edition handsets are no longer supported (Nokia 36xx,
Nokia 7650, N-Gage, N-Gage QD, Siemens SX1).
3. What’s New?
This section lists the improvements of TALKS 4.00 compared to the previous
version (3.60).
3.1. New audio system (S60 3rd Ed.)
We have completely revised the audio handling in TALKS. This is most noticeable
by the ability to use speech during a call on handsets running S60 3rd Edition
for all supported text-to-speech engines. With the previous version of TALKS,
the Nokia TTS had to be used during a call; and for S60 3rd Edition FP2, no
speech during a call was possible. The new audio handling appears to have some
positive impact on performance on a number of phones as well.
For S60 3rd Edition handsets, we have introduced two new speech settings, which
allow adjusting the base audio volume and initial response time, so you can
fine-tune speech playback for your phone, firmware version, etc.
3.2. Support for Quick Word (S60 3rd Ed.)
It is now possible to open Word documents, such as email attachments, and read
them in QuickWord. QuickWord is a part of QuickOffice, and its view-only
version is pre-installed on most handsets, while the full version that allows
editing text is pre-installed on the Nokia ESeries handsets, or can be
purchased otherwise.
TALKS&ZOOMS supports the view-only and full version of QuickWord 3.x, as well
as the full versions of newer releases (4.x and later, as pre-installed on FP2
phones). When using the full version, please make sure to switch to edit mode
to allow TALKS to read the content.
3.3. SIM-based licensing
The new release of TALKS&ZOOMS gives users more freedom by offering SIM-based
licensing. When TALKS&ZOOMS is registered to a SIM-card instead of being
registered to a phone/IMEI, the user can move that SIM card from one phone to
the other, as long as the SIM license is valid for the TALKS version installed
to the new handset.
3.4. Configurable object recognition
TALKS assigns so-called “roles” to the objects it recognizes on the mobile
phone’s display, and composes speech output from the text and roles of these
objects. In numerous cases, in particular when a 3rd-party application was
used, TALKS has not been able to determine all required roles correctly; in
other cases, the user did not like to hear certain announcements.
Now, the user can define the role of an object using the Object Viewer, and
thus create special speech output for each application.
Furthermore, the Object Viewer can now be used for easier entry of replacements
into the dictionary, similar to its use to assign image labels known from the
previous release.
3.5. Nuance Daisy2Go (S60 3rd Ed.)
Nuance Daisy2go is a player/viewer for books that conform to the DAISY 2.02
specification, for phones utilizing S60 3rd Edition. Daisy2go is a part of the
Nuance Accessibility Suite, and it has been optimized for Nuance TALKS, to
allow for easy alternation between audio and textual content.
Nuance Daisy2go provides the following functionality:
A Bookshelf view, that allows you to find, sort, open, and delte DAISY titles.
The Content view, which can show the content for the selected DAISY title in
tree or list view, and allows you to select the chapter or section you want to
access.
The Bookmarks view, which lists all bookmarks defined for the selected DAISY
title, and allows deleting them.
The Text view which displays the textual content of a DAISY book; text size and
colour can be changed. For a title with audio and text content, this is
synchronized with the audio tracks that make up the book.
The Play view, that shows the navigation levels for the selected book, “Heading
1”, “Heading 2”, …, “Heading 6”, “Text block”, and “Phrase”.
A DAISY-fy feature that allows importing a folder with MP3 files as a title on
the bookshelf.
The Book Info view, that shows information about the selected DAISY title, like
the format, title, publisher, author, narrator, creator, duration, etcc.,
depending upon what is available for the selected book.
Forward and backward cueing, like for a tape recorder, with adjustable speed.
Increase or decrease the playback volume.
Increase or decrease the playback speed without pitch changes
Optional auto-resume at start-up, or for a selected DAISY title.
3.6. ZOOMS now available for all Premium licenses
We are now making the ZOOMS component of the Nuance Accessibility Suite
available to all users of TALKS Premium Edition. Further, we have implemented a
View choice that you can find in the Options menu of the TALKS settings
application. This allows reducing the number of visible tab sheets and options
to TALKS-only or ZOOMS-only, or accessing the full TALKS&ZOOMS configuration,
depending upon what the user likes to use.
3.7. Other Improvements
Some more lines on the Standby screen can now be read
Faster reading of icons on Standby screen once the popup with the name has been
shown for the first time
Calendar: all upcoming appointments on the Standby screen are read, not just
the first two
Calendar: correct number of items and full contents are read in Day view
You can now choose the key that is used as the TALKS key from a list of several
options, allowing e.g. the use of the “Multimedia” key
New setting: “Read subtitles” to control reading of tab sheets
New setting: “Read function keys”, to control key echo for function keys, such
as [Key 1] and [Key 2]
TALKS can now be muted on a per-application basis
When softkeys change on typing the first character of a text field (e.g. Key 1
changing to OK), both the character and the key label is read
Text status (T9, upper/lower etc.) are read automatically when focus switches
to a text field, and new setting “Read text status” can turn this behaviour on
or off
Pressing “#” no longer reads information that is unrelated to the text status
Manual registration screen now allows character-by-character reading of IMEI
Support for additional type of automatically updating progress indicators
Braille: input is now possible in 3rd party applications where this did not
work before, and also works for the first digit of a phone number and for
selecting items from the phone’s main menu
3rd Edition FP2: Battery and network status are also read when keyboard is
locked
Nokia E90: Fixed swapped softkey labels in ZOOMS "Distributed Views" mode
Nokia 6124: added workaround to allow input of text into edit fields on web
pages
Bug fixes and stability improvements
4. Known Issues
Not all icons are labelled on newer phones, so some status indicators, like 3G
or GPRS, may not be read in all situations.
3rd Edition (FP1 and FP2): “Search” application is not supported.
Nokia E66/E71: The new calendar application is not yet supported.
Nokia E66/E71: Some elements on the Active Standby screen are not yet
supported, e.g. voice mailbox and received messages.
3rd Edition FP2: Some status indicators (e.g. Bluetooth) cannot be read while
the phone keyboard is locked.
3rd Edition FP2: Built-in Help screens are not read because they use the web
browser in a way that is not yet supported by TALKS.
3rd Edition FP2: You will notice a slow response of voice recognition "beep"
after holding [Key 2] when TALKS is not muted
N96: “Photos” application (and “Photos” submenu of “Gallery”) is not supported.
N96: Daisy2Go does not support firmware versions prior to 20.x of this phone.
This is expected to be fixed by a future firmware update.
Some features are not supported on 2nd Edition phones:
SIM-based licensing is only available on 2nd Edition FP2 and FP3 phones
Fast reading of icons on the Active Standby screen
Reading of current street name in map view of Wayfinder Access
Features of new audio system, e.g. delay and volume factor adjustments
5. FAQ
Q: Your software does not install on my E-Series handset or branded device, and
reports a Certificate Error! Why?
A: While TALKS&ZOOMS for S60 3rd Edition itself is certified, and thus can be
installed on any supported S60 3rd Edition handset, the installers for the TTS
engines (Eloquence or RealSpeak Mobile) are not signed. E-Series handsets and
some branded devices do only accept the installation of signed software, unless
you turn of the corresponding option inside the Application Manager:
Open the phone menu.
Open the App. Manager inside the Tools folder
Press “Options”, then select “Settings”.
Set “Software Installation” from “Signed only” to “All”.
Press “Back” to close the Settings dialogue, then “Exit” to close the App.
Manager.
Now, you can install the TTS engine.
Another reason could be that the date on your phone is not set correctly – as
3rd Edition software is digitally signed, SIS files can only be installed if
the phone is set to a valid date.

Q: Can I install the new release of TALKS&ZOOMS, while a previous release is
active?
A: Yes, if the new version is installed to the same memory location as the
previous release. If you would like to change the memory location, you have to
remove the previous release first!

Q: Why do I get an “Upgrade error” when installing the S60 3rd Edition version?
A: The most likely reasons are that you have used a beta release, or already
have the Nokia TTS driver available that was installed as a separate file with
version 3.10. Please remove any beta version, as well as the Nokia TTS driver,
before upgrading to TALKS 4.00.

James Scholes
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Message sent at 07:40:23 PM GMT on Thursday, March 12, 2009

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[access-uk] Nuance TALKS 4.0 is released

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