New Speed Texting World Record

A new world record has been set for texting speed, using a Samsung Omnia II and the excellent Swype application. Swype comes pre-installed on the Omnia II, and to draw attention to this Samsung set about looking for a texting champion - and they found one, a chap called Franklin Page, an intern working inside Swype towers.

Using Swype, Franklin Page managed to enter the phrase:

"The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."

in an impressive 35.54 seconds. This is the standard phrase used in all text speed attempts, as it contains exactly 160 characters, the limit of a standard SMS.

The Swype application used in the record offers a new way of entering text on a touchscreen device, allowing you to enter words by dragging your finger across the keyboard instead of individually touching letters, as seen in this demo:

It takes while to get used to, but after using Swype for a couple of weeks my texting speed on an Android device has improved immensely, although I'm still a long way from being able to reach this level of texting speed! How long the record will remain is anyone's guess, but if you want to be recognised as the world record holder for texting speed, then you better get practising!