Brazilian Teen Texts 25-Word Paragraph in 18.19 Seconds; Is World’s Fastest Texter

A 16-year-old Brazilian youth who lives in New York City was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the fastest texter in the world. Marcel Fernandes typed a 25-word paragraph in 18.19 seconds on April 25, using his Samsung Galaxy S4 phone.

He broke the old record held by 15-year-old Gaurav Sharma from Seattle who typed the same 25-word paragraph in 18.44 seconds. In turn, Sharma broke the old record established by Swype employee Franklin Page at 33.54 seconds.

Fernandes used Fleksy, a keyboard app, while Sharma used Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8.1 software, which has the Word Flow keyboard.

This is the paragraph that the two swift fingers typed at unbelievable speeds:

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.

Fernandes, who says he had always loved mobile phones as a child, insists he's not a text addict because he doesn't spend the whole day using the gadget.

He developed speed in texting after he destroyed his computer in anger due to its flickering monitor. Fernandes shifted to using an iPhone for his online needs, but later switch to a Samsung unit.

Fleksy founder and COO Ioannis Verdelis was happy with Fernandes's use of their app, which was part of the company's business plan to beat the record. To do that, Fleksy conducted a contest and received hundreds of applicants. Fernandes was one of them.

Word Flow and Swype use swiping for texting in which users glide across letters to text, while Fleksy uses a keyboard and an algorithim to autocorrect and guess the user's next word.

Fernandes just proved that speed is not always achieved via swiping. Verdelis explained, quoted by Mashable, "Though we like swiping as an input method, the vision is to make an awesome keyboard that everyone can use ... My parents know how to tap type. Now they can be fast smartphone typists too, without having to learn swiping or any other alternative input method."

However, Fleksy is looking this early for another texter to break the record of Fernandes by organising a World Record Challenge contest and releasing an update to its Android app. Within the next two weeks, texters would have the chance to beat Fernandes's record and earn a spot in Guinness World Records. The top scorer would get a new Nexus 5, while the 10 runners-up would get a copy of the latest Guinness Book of Records.