Spb Software House have just announced the release of the next version of their excellent SIP, Full Screen Keyboard version 3.0.

With support for WM2005, VGA and square screens plus a new portrait mode amongst the new improvements, this version is a major step forward and well worth a look.

The press release in full...

" Spb Software House Releases Spb Full Screen Keyboard 3.0
 
September 22, 2005 - Spb Software House, a leading Pocket PC software developer, releases Spb Full Screen Keyboard 3.0, a powerful way to enter text quickly and easily on your Pocket PC.
 
More than 75% of the time spent developing this major new version was dedicated to one single goal - making this input tool more usable. The new misprint correction feature combined with the new smart self-learning algorithm and the ergonomic keyboard layout dramatically reduce the number of misprints. This was approved by long-term usability testing. Among other new features there are: native VGA skins, portrait layout, square screen device support, improved skin format, and Windows Mobile 5.0 support.
 
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CNET's Roget Hibbert had this to say about the previous version of the product: "If you'd prefer not to learn a new keyboard layout, Spb Full Screen Keyboard may be the best bet. The application does what its name implies, covering the whole screen of your Pocket PC and letting you type with your thumbs, rather than a character at a time with your stylus."
 
Spb has done extensive usability testing to understand what should be improved to make entering text even simpler. It turned out that the leading causes of misprints, when typing with thumbs, were users' individual typing manner and device-specific screen press handling. These problems were overcome by some innovations. With the growing amount of entered texts the program gets used to user's typing manner, gathers statistics, and compensates accordingly.
 
Another feature to fight text input mistakes is automatic correction. When an unknown word is encountered, the program analyzes the probability of this word being misspelled and substitutes it with the closest one from the dictionary using the statistics gathered during the whole period of using the application.
 
New skin format supported by Full Screen Keyboard is significantly optimized in loading time and file size. The default keyboard layout is re-designed in order to make typing more comfortable. Users with VGA screens will enjoy the native VGA skins. Portrait mode and square screens are supported too. These and other features will make you enjoy using this software.
 
 
*** Pricing and Availability ***
 
Spb Full Screen Keyboard 3.0 is currently available in English, German and French languages. Italian, Spanish, and Russian versions will be announced later. A free 15-day trial can be downloaded, or Spb Full Screen Keyboard can be purchased for $9.95 USD, from www.spbsoftwarehouse.com . Owners of Spb Full Screen Keyboard 2.x can upgrade their version for $4.95 USD.
Further details about the upgrade process are available at the Spb Software House website.
 
 
*** Further Information and Downloads ***
 
Further information regarding Full Screen Keyboard can be found on the Spb website:
 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/
 
What's new in Spb Full Screen Keyboard 3.0:
 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/history.html
 
More skins for free download:
 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/skins.html
 
Upgrade from Spb Full Screen Keyboard 2.x:
 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/upgrade.php
 
Features demonstrated through screenshots:
 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/screenshots.html
 
A free 15-day trial can be downloaded from:
 
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/fsk/download.html
 
 
 
*** About Spb Software House ***
 
Spb Software House is a software development company, specializing mainly in Windows Mobile software for Pocket PCs. Founded in 1999, the company offers advanced software solutions for use in a wide range of applications."