It's the second day of 2017, and the annual Consumer Electronics Show is right around the corner. A lot of companies are already trying to build up hype, like ASUS, even if it means just sending out a picture of a processor brand and a few hashtags. CES is always a busy show, and companies have to fight for any meaningful coverage -- except for the ones that don't have a presence at all.

Samsung is one company that has special events of its own to unveil its flagship devices, but it's not completely against CES as a whole. The manufacturer did just unveil brand new Galaxy A series handsets, technically during the week of CES, for instance. But for the most part, Samsung will wait to make a big deal until it gets around to unveiling the next Galaxy S flagship.

Every year is busy when it comes to smartphones, and CES is the perfect way to kick things off in its hustle and bustle. The noise won't really die down for a few months now, as CES kicks off, and then Mobile World Congress gets going at the end of February, bleeding into March.

And then we'll have one-off events for other companies. Samsung, HTC, Apple, and others.

It's all par for the course, really, but it's still exciting to look ahead. You've probably kept up with the rumors that have cropped up for some companies, like Samsung and Apple, and you may already be setting your expectations accordingly.

But I want to hear from you, and I want to know what you're expecting to be a real surprise this year. Which company do you think will announce a smartphone that has genuinely exciting and surprising features, or design? The same can be said for tablets, too, even though we probably won't see many of those this year.

For me, I think it's going to be another head-to-head race between Samsung and Apple. While I think the Lenovo-owned Motorola, HTC, OnePlus, and other companies will have worthwhile handsets, it's Samsung and Apple that are probably going to be swinging for the fences this year. These are the two companies I'm expecting, if not outright hoping, will have something truly worthwhile to announce this year, and may even throw in a few surprises for good measure.

What about you? Which company do you think will surprise the mobile world the most this year? Let me know!