It's been a long time since I've written about Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN). It was one of my 10 Stocks Under $10 picks five years ago. That was when it was moving out of the bar code scanner business after acquiring ScanSoft digital imaging from Xerox (NYSE:XRX). It changed its name from Visioneer to ScanSoft. Now that it's also a major player in voice-recognition solutions, it goes by the name Nuance.
I'm not the only one who spotted Nuance early. Bill Mann singled it out for Motley Fool Hidden Gems subscribers nearly two years ago. The stock has soared roughly 180% higher since then.
Speech recognition is huge. It's not just about callers frustrated in their search for customer service. These days you have companies like Ford (NYSE:F) turning to Nuance to make their cars more responsive.
If you're vocally commanding your Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) Centro or Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry Pearl, you can thank Nuance. But should you invest in Nuance? Not all Fools agree.
Billy Fisher is our bull this week. Jason Ramage is our bear. After a wave of acquisitions, it's hard to get a good read on the company. Billy and Jason are here to present both sides of the argument.
Duel on!
