AST turns business desktops into verbal powerhouses with Verbex speech recognition technology.

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 1995-- AST today reinforced its commitment to integrated voice and audio on the business desktop by incorporating speech recognition features on its fall lineup of Bravo MS business desktop systems.

Editor's Summary:

     o One of the first to integrate speech recognition features into
its business desktops, AST has enriched its new Bravo MS business
desktops with Verbex's "Listen for Windows"(tm) 2.0, a leading speech
recognition system.
     o Ideal for file searches, data entry, word processing applications
as well as reading email, Verbex's Listen for Windows 2.0 lets users
navigate through Windows(r) 95 with a spoken phrase, start a program
by saying its name, and even enter spreadsheet data with just a few
spoken words.
     o Available now, the fall lineup of Bravo MS business desktops
delivers high-end performance with added expansion capabilities
designed for long-term growth.

Listen for Windows 2.0, by Verbex Voice Systems, is a speech command and data entry system that recognizes continuous speech and it is ideal for many applications including data entry, information retrieval and switching between programs.

Incorporated into AST-Voice Command(tm), a software utilities package for speech recognition that comes standard on the new Bravo MS desktops, Listen for Windows 2.0 provides a fast and natural user interface for operating complex programs. According to Verbex, Listen for Windows 2.0 can make computing easier, increase productivity and reduce the risk of stress-related injuries attributed to repetitive keyboard and mouse usage by replacing numerous keystrokes and mouse clicks with spoken commands.

"We are excited about the incorporation of Listen for Windows 2.0 in our fall lineup of Bravo MS products. Verbex has been building vertical speech recognition applications for almost a decade and their experience shows in this product," said AST's Dan Sheppard, director of marketing for business desktops. "We believe our business PC users will find Listen for Windows a practical and efficient tool to maximize productivity."

Beyond the Written Word

Located within AST-VoiceCommand, Listen for Windows 2.0 comes with an easy-to-use command editor as well as speech interfaces to cc:Mail for Windows by Lotus Development Corporation and Microsoft(tm) Word allowing users to easily customize speech commands.

"The selection of Verbex Listen for Windows technology by AST represents the advancement of speech recognition as a mainstream desktop utility," said Eric R. Nahm, vice president of marketing and sales at Verbex Voice Systems.

"A speech-enabled desktop PC such as AST's Bravo MS will increase the ease-of-use through simplifying tasks such as entering numbers into spreadsheets and performing editing functions while creating documents. These are excellent examples of how freeing up a user's hands for document handling or typing can result in substantial productivity gains," he added.

Plenty of "Headroom"

AST understands that the mid-range business desktop market places top priority on competitively priced solutions that meet the customer needs of today and tomorrow. In keeping with this philosophy, AST has designed its Bravo line of business desktops to provide plenty of "head room" for future growth.

With its lineup of new Bravo MS desktops, AST has increased the value of ownership by offering bundled software and utility packages as well as providing the expandability and compatibility of components to meet users' long-term needs. Anticipating the long-term growth demands of its business desktop customers has allowed AST to deliver speech recognition technology and the advantage of enhanced productivity at an enticing price.

AST has developed a very aggressive pricing system, with the Bravo MS as much as 23 percent below competitors. "Today, you can get a Bravo MS using the powerhouse Pentium(r) processor 133MHz, with 16MB of RAM and a 1.2GB hard drive for $2,750. This is as much as $648 less than our competitors' similarly equipped systems," said Sheppard.

The new Bravo MS boasts Pentium processors ranging from 75 MHz to 133 MHz, 850 MB to 1.6 GB hard drives, 8 MB to 16 MB of memory, 256 KB cache, and integrated PCI-based 64-bit ATI graphics with 1 MB of video memory. Selected models also feature a quad-speed CD-ROM drive.

Worldwide Service and Support

Bravo MS systems are available now and come with a three-year warranty including one-year on-site support for systems bundled with a hard drive and two-year depot service.

AST backs all of its products with a host of multi-source support programs including a toll-free "hot" line for users in the U.S., AST InfoLine, an interactive voice response system with fax-response diagnostics and instructions, and Info-FAX, a 24-hour local and international voice-automated fax response product information source. Additionally, AST OnLine!, AST's own bulletin board service and Compuserve(r) and Prodigy(r) online forums are available.

Verbex Voice Systems Corporate Background

Verbex Voice Systems, based in Edison, NJ, is the leader in providing continuous speech solutions. Founded in 1986, Verbex has the largest installed base of commercially active continuous speech recognition products. Verbex products are used by thousands of computer users worldwide for mission-critical business applications such as bond trading, various health care applications, package and mail sorting, quality control, factory automation and air traffic control training. Verbex is located at 1090 King George Post Road, Edison, NJ. 08837. Telephone [phone] or Fax [phone]. Corporate Background

AST Research Inc., a member of the Fortune 500 list of America's largest industrial and service companies, is one of the world's leading personal computer manufacturers. The $2.468 billion company develops a broad spectrum of desktop, mobile and server PC products that are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. AST systems meet a wide range of customer needs, ranging from corporate business applications to advanced home and home office use. Corporate headquarters is located at 16215 Alton Parkway, P.O. Box 57005, Irvine, Calif. 92619-7005. Telephone [phone] or [phone]. Fax: [phone].

Note to Editors: AST is a registered trademark of AST Research, Inc. AST-VoiceCommand, is a trademark of AST Research Inc. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corp. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Listen for Windows is a trademark of Verbex Voice Systems. Compuserve is a registered service of Compuserve, Inc. Prodigy is a registered trademark of the Prodigy Services Corporation. All other product service names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Camerone Welch-Thorson

714/727-8858

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