In October 2006, Nuance Communications hosted a challenge to determine the fastest and most accurate way to send text messages and email using mobile devices. In a classic match-up of man vs. machine, Ben Cook, recently crowned the world champion of text messaging, raced against Nuance Mobile Dictation, the speech recognition technology that allows mobile phone users to create text messages using speech.

Cook, a teen from Utah, holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest entry of a 160-character standardized message on a mobile device: “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.” Cook’s previous triple tap record for the standard message stood at 42.22 seconds.

Nuance Mobile Dictation crushed the world record time, completing the message in 16.32 seconds.

The complete Amazing Race competition featured four participants: Ben Cook using triple tap input; a competitor using T9 input; a proficient typist using a Blackberry device with a full QWERTY keyboard; and Nuance’s own staff member demonstrating Nuance Mobile Dictation. Contestants were scored based on the time required to complete the entry of the exact text messages, including appropriate spelling, punctuation and capitalization. The event consisted of three rounds:

• Round 1: “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”
• Round 2: “This is a very exciting competition! It’s hard to believe that Nuance provides a mobile application that allows a user to speak completely open-ended messages, and it works!”
• Round 3: “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.”