Reflections On 2011 | Bangkok Post: lifestyle

Marking its first anniversary Life has compiled an alphabetical list of 'talk of the town' items this year

Android has become the No.1 smartphone platform in a very short time and the world's fastest growing mobile platform, with more than 200 million devices activated globally. Google's OS is available as a free download and many smartphone makers around the world are following suit. Developers also show off their new ideas every day, with more than 10 billion apps downloaded from Android Market. The free nature of the open OS to reduce costs has led to a huge response from buyers interested in Android-based smartphones. Besides, with the declining prices of handsets, Android has become popular in the burgeoning smartphone market because of the availability of a great deal of apps, ease of use, and notable features in power and speed. Android not only runs on smartphones and tablets, but it is now being used for HDTVs and vehicles, and the list goes on and on.

The hottest football team in the Thai Premier League 2011, Buriram PEA _ under the helm of Buriram's best-known politician Newin Chidchob _ successfully reached its goal of winning its first championship, even though there are still four more matches to play. The team from the lower Isan region has won the hearts of fans throughout the country, so much so that its name was recently announced by Google as one of the most searched words in Thailand, in the sports category. Thanks to the popularity of the team and its new state-of-the-art football stadium, Buriram PEA has raised the image of this once considered underdeveloped province to another level.