Free Speech Recognition & Voice Typing Tools

* Google Chrome speech recognition engine - The built-in speech recognition engine within Google Chrome offers hands-free typing for free in not just English but a number of other Indian languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam. You can try this service out on the Web Speech API Demonstration page

Say "New Paragraph" to begin a new paragraph, "Comma", "Full Stop", "Question Mark" for punctuation

* Google Docs Voice Typing (available in Google Chrome only) - the voice typing feature in Google Docs can be activated from the toolbar (Tools > Voice Typing..) or with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shft+S

Upon activating it, a microphone appears on your document. There are more than 100 commands to do almost anything in Google Docs without using your hands.

It may also work on your Android and iOS phones and tablets but that may depend on the type and model.

* Gboard, Google's keyboard app can help you not just type or swipe in text on iOS and Android but also type as you speak.

* Google Now is fully integrated with the Android operating system, which means you can use it to perform almost any function in addition to transcribing your voice to text.

* Windows Speech Recognition is good for navigating your PC hands-free

* Dictate is a free add-on to Microsoft Office, from Microsoft Garage. It is currently only compatible with Word, Outlook and PowerPoint. Dictate uses Cortana's speech recognition software to transcribe. Your computer needs to be connected to the internet for it to work.

While these tools lack the sophistication and accuracy of commercial products like Dragon NaturallySpeaking, it is impressive how  beautifully they are evolving and leveraging the cloud.

Tips for better dictation results -

- Speak like a newscaster
- Use short sentences
- Avoid filler words
- Punctuate sentences by saying “comma”,  “period”, “hyphen”