Back during the CES in January, we learned about an interesting competition being run by Microsoft’s Ben Rudolph. Dubbed “Smoked by Windows Phone”, the contest would pit Rudolph against challenging smartphone fans, seeing if anyone was capable of getting tasks completed faster than Rudolph on his Windows Phone handsets. Besides being some good PR for Microsoft, it all sounded like a lot of fun. If you weren’t among the lucky who got to attend CES in Vegas, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve missed your shot at showing-off your smartphone skills head-to-head, as Microsoft is taking its contest on the road.

Starting today, Microsoft is bringing Smoked by Windows Phone to its retail locations across California. Today, things are going down in Costa Mesa, at the South Coast Plaza, but other stores will be visited on future dates. The same rules apply as they did at the CES: beat Rudolph and he’ll pay you $100, but lose to him and you’ll have to publicly record your admission of defeat.

To learn about future stops for the competition, check out Rudolph’s Twitter feed.

Source: Microsoft