There’s a world record for everything, including texting messages of dubious utility to anyone not swimming in piranha-infested waters.
Touchscreen keyboard maker Fleksy announced on Thursday that its product helped to break the Guinness World Record for fastest texting on a touchscreen mobile phone. A Brazilian user recorded a time of 18.19 seconds at an official Guinness event in New York.
We found it strange that the company’s press release didn’t mention exactly what the winning user texted, until we found it in a PCMag.com report: “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.”
When you need that kind of information, you need it fast.
Of course winning the award may have had at least as much to do with the winner’s manual dexterity as with the keyboard itself. But you can’t blame Fleksy for feeling validated.
“Fleksy takes the coveted title while introducing its much anticipated next-generation accuracy engine on both mobile platforms,” the company said. “The new Fleksy engine features improved correction accuracy, including space error corrections and an improved language engine for its award winning keyboard.” Previous record holders were Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Swype (Nuance).
“We’ve been passionate about building the most comfortable, beautiful, and fastest smartphone keyboard ever since we started,” said Ioannis Verdelis, co-founder and COO of Fleksy. “The Guinness World Record is a great testament to our progress, and we are pleased that our latest improvements make Fleksy the world’s fastest keyboard for smartphones.”
The company has released updates to its product for Android and iOS. Both apps feature what Fleksy says is its most accurate engine to date. The iOS update features six new languages and the Android app includes a new World Record Challenge, allowing Fleksy users to beat Fleksy’s own record and win badges and prizes.
The company also announced that Fleksy for Android will be sold at half price in the Google Play Store until May 29, while all previous free trials will be extended to the same date.
“We’ve made a lot of improvements to our product in the last months, and we want to give everyone the chance to try the world class technology we’ve been building,” said Kosta Eleftheriou, co-founder and CEO.