LG Mobile World Cup
Encyclopedia
The LG Mobile World Cup was an international competition held on January 14, 2010 by LG Electronics
in which participants competed using their texting
speed and accuracy. It was held at Gotham Hall in New York City
. Thirteen teams representing their countries competed for a total of $150,000 USD
in prize money.
. Thirteen countries participated in the 2010 competition: Argentina
, Australia
, Brazil
, Canada
, Indonesia
, Mexico
, New Zealand
, Portugal
, Russia
, South Africa
, South Korea
, Spain
, and the United States
.
Previously, LG hosted texting competitions in individual countries such as the United States and South Korea. The United States had competitions for 2007, 2008, and 2009. South Korea had competitions in 2008 and 2009. However, 2010 was the first year when countries competed against each other.
Each team participated in five separate events: "break the wall", "monster popping", "moving pillar", "running relay", and "racing replay". The basic premise was to copy a scrolling piece of text as quickly as possible. No errors were allowed in transcription. All of the text messages were in the native language of the participants, but had the same number of characters in order to ensure fairness. Additionally, all participants had to use the LG enV3, LG BL20 or LG GW520
The prizes were set at $100,000 USD per pair for first place, $20,000 USD per pair for second place and $10,000 USD per pair for third place.
LG Electronics
LG Electronics is a global electronics and telecommunications company headquartered in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea. The company operates its business through five divisions: mobile communications, home entertainment, home appliance, air conditioning and business solution...
in which participants competed using their texting
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
speed and accuracy. It was held at Gotham Hall in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Thirteen teams representing their countries competed for a total of $150,000 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
in prize money.
Format
Teams consist of two members. One member competes using a QWERTY keyboard, while the other member uses a numeric keypadNumeric keypad
A numeric keypad, numpad or tenkey for short, is the small, palm-sized, seventeen key section of a computer keyboard, usually on the very far right. The numeric keypad features digits 0 to 9, addition , subtraction , multiplication and division symbols, a decimal point and Num Lock and Enter keys...
. Thirteen countries participated in the 2010 competition: Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Previously, LG hosted texting competitions in individual countries such as the United States and South Korea. The United States had competitions for 2007, 2008, and 2009. South Korea had competitions in 2008 and 2009. However, 2010 was the first year when countries competed against each other.
Qualification
Teams earned the right to participate in regional qualifiers. Over six million people registered to compete in the tournament.Each team participated in five separate events: "break the wall", "monster popping", "moving pillar", "running relay", and "racing replay". The basic premise was to copy a scrolling piece of text as quickly as possible. No errors were allowed in transcription. All of the text messages were in the native language of the participants, but had the same number of characters in order to ensure fairness. Additionally, all participants had to use the LG enV3, LG BL20 or LG GW520
Results
Ha Mok-min, aged 16, and her partner, 17-year old Bae Yeong-ho, won first prize in the competition. Mok-min won the national championship, and was able to text at an average of 7.25 characters per second. She signed up for the competition when she noticed a kiosk in the mall, and saw the opportunity to win free movie tickets. Yeong-ho, a high school dropout, signed up in order to obtain money to buy a new car. The second place finishers were Kate Moore and Morgan Dynda from the United States. The third place team was from Argentina.The prizes were set at $100,000 USD per pair for first place, $20,000 USD per pair for second place and $10,000 USD per pair for third place.