SingTel SMS Shootout is Back

Singapore-based SingTel is launching the second annual SingTel SMS Shootout contest. Contestants will have to accurately type a 160-character message on their mobile phones in the shortest possible time, without any predictive text or spelling aid. The message, a standard one set by Guinness World Records, is:

"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."

The current world record time is 43.24 seconds. It was set by Ms Kimberly Yeo, a Singaporean, before a live audience at the inaugural SingTel SMS Shootout 2004. The previous record was 67 seconds.

This year’s SingTel SMS Shootout will kick off with two selection rounds to be held on 12 and 13 November with preliminaries and finals being held at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza on 19 and 20 November 2005.

The champion of the SingTel SMS Shootout this year will win as much as $25,000 worth of prizes, including a cash prize of $12,000. The other top 19 mobile ‘texters’ also stand to win various prizes, including cash, mobile phone subscriptions and hello! vouchers. Prize sponsors for the event include Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.