Back in 2007, Corning introduced Gorilla Glass, which quickly became the industry standard for damage-resistant glass used on mobile phones, tablets, notebooks, monitors and TVs across the world. Today, it is used by more than 30 multinational technology brands, and is integrated into over 570 products, which collectively amassed global sales last year of more than 500 million units.

But despite sales in 2011 tripling to $700m over the previous year, Corning wasn’t happy to rest on its laurels, and at CES, the company officially announced Gorilla Glass 2.

Corning’s James R Steiner said: “We knew Corning Gorilla Glass could get even better. So, in response to our customers’ drive toward thinner form factors, we designed this new glass to enable meaningful reduction in thickness without sacrificing performance.”

Indeed, Gorilla Glass 2 maintains the damage-resistance, scratch-resistance and all-round toughness that the product has become famous for, while facilitating a 20% reduction in the thickness of the glass. Making the glass thinner obviously allows for slimmer devices, but also boosts touch sensitivity and improves image brightness on protected displays.

Some of the first devices on sale with Gorilla Glass 2 early this year will be Windows notebooks, and Steiner believes that the two are a match made in heaven: “This glass, along with Windows operating system innovations from Microsoft, will help deliver exceptional beauty, performance, and toughness for new Windows PCs.”

Microsoft’s Nick Parker, VP for Worldwide OEM Marketing, agrees. “As Windows continues to bring new experiences to customers on new devices, we look to Corning to bring innovative, durable glass solutions that enable brighter images and greater touch sensitivity”, said Parker, hinting at the next-generation tablets that will arrive later this year with Windows 8.

Until those new products arrive though, first-generation Gorilla Glass will soldier on. If you're not sure if your device has Gorilla Glass already, check out Corning's list of protected devices. And if you're not yet convinced that Gorilla Glass makes any difference at all, take a moment or two to enjoy this video - via pestaola.gr - of a Nokia Lumia 800 being attacked with coins, keys and a Swiss army knife:

Update: Thanks to Neowin reader foodan who pointed out this more vigorous scratch/drop test.

Whatever your opinion is on this technology, short of getting brutal on your device protected with Gorilla Glass, the above videos show that it stands up to the common scenarios most of us have experienced.