14 DAY TRIAL // South Korean mobile phone maker LG Electronics announced recently the launch of its LG MOBILE WORLDCUP 2009. The new edition of the annual festival starts with the first national texting competition in Indonesia, which will end in November in the US at the World Championship, where the world’s fastest texter will be rewarded.
“LG wants to highlight how modern mobile phones are helping enrich people’s lives and LG MOBILE WORLDCUP allows us to do that and have fun at the same time,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Today, mobile phones are much more than just communication tools. Customers today are buying mobile phones not just to communicate but also to be entertained. In recognition of this trend, we’ve transformed MOBILE WORLDCUP 2009 into a festival that celebrates freedom, fun and function.”
The LG MOBILE WORLDCUP will encompass a wide variety of activities, which this year will come with the unifying catchphrase “Sharing Fun Through Mobile Technology.” Those willing to participate at the festival will have the opportunity to engage in activities like game tournaments, a user-created “Mobile Pop Art” challenge, a photo contest, a celebrity-studded gala concert as well as the texting competition.
This year's festival has been expanded to a number of sixteen countries, while the prizes totaling US$1 million. The mobile phone maker announced that users in five continents and 13 countries would have the chance to compete in National Championships for texting. The first event will be held in Indonesia at the Jakarta Theater on August 15, four weeks after the start of the national league and other related mobile events.
The other countries in the competition are Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Russia, China and South Korea. The final World Championship in the US in November will have as the highest prize US$100,000. The contest will take place on LG phones in front of a live audience, the company says, while also adding that it expects for the LG MOBILE WORLDCUP to see around 6 million participants this year.