Brands and marketers are heading to Las Vegas for the International CES show this week, which is expected to be an "evolutionary" showcase for "phablets," smart cars, mobile entertainment, celebrity-gawking and trend-watching. So what's in store for this year's edition of "the mother of all trade shows"?

A lot of noise from the many brands looking to make some noise in Vegas, including:

• Audi and Toyota will unveil self-driving cars among other auto brand moves.
• Corning will unveil tougher Gorilla Glass for smartphones and tablets.
• Google TV news is being closely watched, along with YouTube integration, while execs speak on "Brand Matters" lunch panel.
• Huawei is bringing the Ascend D2 among other "competitive" new devices.Continue reading...

The images may make it look like a notebook, but Microsoft's new Surface line is all about tablets. As the center of the computing industry continues to shift from PC to mobile, Microsoft, maker of keyboards and mice for three decades, is directly challenging Apple’s iPhone and iPad dominance with the Surface sub-brand.

"Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen made a big bet — a bet on software — but it was always clear that we had to push hardware in ways that sometimes manufacturers hadn't envisioned," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at Monday's unveiling. "We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made better when all aspects, hardware and software, are working together."Continue reading...

Remember Corning's viral video hit, "A Day Made of Glass"? Today the company released "A Day Made of Glass 2," described as "Corning's expanded vision for the future of glass technologies (that) will help shape our world." Watch a behind-the-scenes video below.Continue reading...

How many things can one accomplish thanks to glass? Corning's answer — virtually anything.

Garnering more than 14 million views since being posted on YouTube in February, and winner of the video category of the BMA B2 awards, the video is a spectacular display of the potential of Corning glass.

The video shows a day in the life of a family that interacts with glass surfaces constantly, including windows, stove tops, refrigerator doors, outdoor displays, mobile phones — glass is everywhere, and Corning leaves nothing to the imagination.Continue reading...

Mobile apps for cats aren't new, but Friskies is getting in the game with its iPad and Android tablet games for cats at (you guessed it) gamesforcats.com. Above, the Nestle-owned brand shows some feline fans playing games including Cat Fishing, Tasty Treasure Hunt and Party Mix-Up (Wonderland Quest II too difficult?) One word of warning: you might want to use these kitty games on an Android tab until Apple finally decides to use Corning's scratch-proof Gorilla Glass in the iPad.

Sony revealed its latest TV commercial on Facebook and YouTube today — "Television Redefined."Continue reading...

Move over Cadbury gorilla, American Tourister suitcase-tester, Gorilla brand glue and tape — even, dare we say, the 800 pound gorillas (Microsoft, Sony, Google et al) swinging from the rafters at CES 2011 in Las Vegas. There's a new gorilla in town, one that's quietly beating its chest and coolly taking the tech world by storm.

Make room for Corning, once best known for cookware products now produced under third-party license, as it muscles its way into consumer electronics and aims to reinvent its brand via its uber-strong Gorilla Glass, now popping up in a smart device near you.

It's already in consumers' hands (though they may not know it) and poised to become a household name via a slew of new products on the floor at CES this week, as electronics giants seek to make their devices the toughest, baddest, strongest screen around.Continue reading...