
PCWorld also reports two leaders in speech recognition, IBM and the Belgian company Lernout & Hauspie, have each built speech-enabled prototypes of handheld devices. The devices could be commercially available as early as next year. The devices should perform speech-to-text transcriptions, have voice-controlled personal digital assistants, and respond to questions with a computer-synthesized voice. IBM and L&H also plan to give the devices wireless connectivity.