Sometimes the only way to find the best is by process of elimination. And in our head-to-head accessories battles, we pit two top accessories against one another to crown the king. This week, HTC accessories duke it out for the number one title, with HTC carrying cases for the Windows 8X phone facing off.

The aptly named Defender, an OtterBox carrying case that hardly needs an introduction, is probably the favorite in this battle. Same as with the Defender models for other phones, this HTC case is one tough cookie.

It offeres full protection from dust, scratches, drops and shocks, with everything from a screen protector and port covers, to its triple-layer construction. Here, durable silicone provides shock absorption while a rugged polycarbonate layer provides shatter protection from drops.

OtterBox Defender Case for HTC Windows 8X in Black

And with a pretty slick, moulded matte black look, the Defender is an HTC carrying case that's both attractive and highly performant. Let's see if the underdog can beat it.

In the opposite corner, we've got a challenger that's in a pretty different weight class than the Defender. Though that mat seem like an unfair fight, the fact that Incipio's Feather case for HTC 8X is so light is actually one of its winning traits.

Like the Defender this Incipio phone case protects against dents and scratches from drops. With a rigid plextonium frame, this HTC carrying case offers high-grade protection but does so without adding much bulk or weight.

Incipio Feather Case for HTC Windows 8X in Black

Weighing in at just 0.5 ounces, it's easy to see why they call it the feather. Pair that easy, lightweight portability with the Feather's tough shell-like protection and slick, smooth look, and you've got Incipio's best-selling carrying case.

This is one rare instance where we're actually going to have to declare a draw. To be sure,  OtterBox's Defender is not to be trifled with. Ultra-tough and cool looking, it deserves its title as one of the best. But so does Incipio's Feather case, which packs a lot of function and protection into its barely-there weight.

Your favorite celebrities have bodyguards to keep them safe. Shouldn't your favorite smartphone have one too? Well, it can, except this time it's BodyGuardz with "z." But this expansive line of high-quality, custom cut screen protectors offer more or less the same thing – total and almost unnoticeable protection at all times.

This week's Pure Mobile accessory of the week, BodyGuardz confidently claims to be the best when it comes to screen protectors and full-body protectors, and there's a lot to support that.

BodyGuardz screen protector for iPhone 5

Their crystal clear and extra tough screen guards and other protectors are available for nearly every phone or tablet out there, from Apple products like the iPhone 5 or iPad, to BlackBerry and HTC phones, and Samsung devices like the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S3. And each is custom cut for a perfect fit with your device.

BodyGuardz also has a huge variety of product models, so you can find the finish and level of protection you want. Their ScreenGuardz series alone comes in four different types, including anti-glare, anti-fingerprint, privacy, and classic clear.

BodyGuardz screen protector for Samsung Galaxy S3

For even more coverage, their Ultra-Tough Clear Skins offer totally clear full-body protection and have even been coated with an anti-microbial solution. They've also been specifically designed to make them easier to apply, so you don't get those annoying bubbles.

BodyGuardz are also really reasonably priced. So, when you consider that these leading screen protectors are cheap, work like they're supposed to, come in tons of different styles, and are easy to find for whatever device you may use, it's pretty obvious why they claim to be the best. And that's why they're our pick for mobile accessory of the week.

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• BodyGuardz Pure offers strong protection, great glass feel

With 2013 right on the horizon, we're wrapping up another great year at Pure Mobile by looking back on some of our favorite mobile phones, accessories and innovations from the past year, in a feature we're calling 2012 in Review.

Though we're saving our favorite devices and accessories for another post, today we'll bo honing in on the top 5 technological innovations that took the mobile world by storm this year.

Be it brand new technology, or an innovation that really came into its own in 2012, the following mobile technologies left their mark on some of the biggest names in mobile. From Apple to Samsung and Nokia, these innovations made good devices great, and are likely to change the landscape of mobile technology in years to come.

NFC

Sure, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology has actually been around for a couple of years. But in 2012, almost every major player's mid- and high-range smartphones were NFC-capable.

Blackberry, Windows Phone and Android are already embracing NFC, and the technology is becoming more widespread among Canadian retailers as a means of processing payments via smartphone. And though Apple opted not to go for NFC with the iPhone 5, Mobile Magazine says there's good reason to believe they'll get on board in 2013.

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 was just one of 2012's NFC-capable smartphones

High Res and Retina Displays

For tablets, 2012 was all about upping the ante when it comes to display. The 4th Generation iPad boasted a retina display with a resolution of 2048×1536, only to be (slightly) outdone by Google and Samsung with the the 2560 x 1600 display of the Nexus10 tablet.

The Samsung-made Google Nexus 10 tablet pushed high resolution displays to new limits in 2012

Nokia Lumia 920's glove-responsive screen 

With the introduction of the Nokia Lumia 920 this year, the world received its first and only smartphone with a glove-sensitive screen, or "Super Sensitive Touch," as Nokia calls it.

So far, it's the only touchscreen that responds to gloved fingers but that's sure to change in 2013. Until then, you can always sport a pair of Glider Gloves.

The Nokia Lumia 920's "Super Sensitive Touch" screen allows you to operate it while wearing gloves

Mainstream Wireless Charging

While wireless charging wasn't strictly innovated in 2012, it certainly hit the mainstream this year with devices like the Nokia Lumia 920, HTC Droid DNA, and the LG-made Nexus 4.

With smartphones only becoming ever present in our lives, it's a no brainer that they should increasingly be adopting wireless charging technology so that users can stay powered up all day long.

2012's HTC Droid DNA has wireless charging capabilities, a technology that's quickly going mainstream

Quad-Core

Quad-core processors first hit the mobile scene in 2011, mostly in tablets. But 2012's biggest smartphones, including the year's best-selling Samsung Galaxy S III,  all rocked Quad-core.

The trend will no doubt continue, making for faster, more powerful smartphones to rival the computers we were all using just a few years ago.

It's no coincidence that 2012's best-selling smartphone, the Galaxy S III, packs a quad-core processor

That about wraps up our review of 2012's most important innovations in mobile technology. There are of course others that deserve notice, but these were the ones we think made the biggest splash this year and that we think will continue to have an impact on mobile technologies in the year to come.

What about you? What were your picks for the greatest mobile innovations of the year. And where do you think mobile technology is headed in 2013? Leave your opinion in the comments section.

As we push toward the end of the week, we're rounding up some of our favorite Canadian news stories from the world of mobile phones. There's a few items on the menu this week, and upliftingly, most are good news, from new releases at Canadian carriers, to expanded LTE coverage, and even a fun contest.

First off, let's get to new smartphone releases. We already reported that Samsung's new ATIV S device would be arriving mid-month – tomorrow to be precise – at Bell. Now we've got confirmation that the new Windows Phone 8 handset will also be in tomorrow at Telus.

The Samsung ATIV S arrives at Telus, Bell, Rogers, and Sasktel

But if you want to get your hands on one, you better hurry, because, according to the internal document obtained by Mobile Syrup, "due to the popularity of the Samsung ATIV, device quantities are limited." If you're not with either Bell or Telus, the ATIV S is also available through Rogers and Sasktel.

Another new arrival, if you can call it that, is the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III at Fido. as Mobile Syrup notes, practically every Canadian carrier already has the best selling phone, and we at Pure Mobile have been stocking accessories for the über popular Galaxy S III for ages. But in any case, it's better late than never, and Fido subscribers will probably be pleased to see the Galaxy S III become available to them.

On the LTE front, Bell and Telus are both expanding their LTE coverage in Canada. Bell will be turning on LTE for customers in Moncton, New Brunswick, Blue Mountain, Ontario, and St.Catherines, Ontario, and Telus is expanding their network to cover users in St. Catharines Ontario and Lloydminister, Alberta.

Virgin is recruiting 5 testers to post reviews about the HTC 8S

Now for the fun stuff. If you've been looking to get your hands on a new HTC Windows phone, Virgin is giving 5 customers a chance to join their "tester team." The 5 chosen testers will post their thoughts about the HTC 8S on Twitter for a four week period, and get to keep the device to boot. Click here to tell Virgin in 100 words or less why you'd make an awesome tester.

There are plenty of ways to get in the holiday spirit. Some people decorate their homes for Christmas, others don an ugly reindeer sweater. But for techies, there's festive phone cases.

So why not kick this holiday season off with a bit of colorful cheer that you can carry with you everywhere?

To get things rolling, we've rounded up 10 of the best and coolest red, green and white cases for your smartphone and other devices. Nice all year round, but especially fun for the holidays, this splash of color will have you counting down to Christmas with every call.

1. Incase Animal SnapCase for iPhone 4S in Red

A wild twist on classic Santa Claus red, this animal pattern Snap Case for iPhone from Incase rolls fashionable and festive into one.

2. G-Zed DIamond Case for iPhone 5 in Green

What could be more festive than this diamond-cut emerald green iPhone 5 case from G-Zed? It's crisp and fresh as new mistletoe.

3. Samsung Flip Cover Case for Galaxy S III in White

Snowy white and ultra sleek, this minimalist flip cover case for the Galaxy S III has pure, uncluttered wintery look.

4. iSkin Flexible case for BlackBerry Vibes/Curve in Red

This flexible case from iSkin covers your BlackBerry in high-gloss cranberry red – how saucy!

5. Otterbox Commuter Case for iPhone 5 in Green

Otterbox's Commuter case for iPhone is so tough, you could probably drop your phone over the edge of Santa's sleigh and it'd still be alright. And it comes in a bright, funky green for a punchy holiday look.

6. Otterbox Defender Canada Flag Case for iPhone 4/4S

It's Christmas in Canada with this Canada Flag motif Defender iPhone Case from Otterbox. Sport Christmas colors this season, and National pride all year round.

7. Griffin Moxy Big Cat Case for iPhone 5 in White

Rawr! Is that a snow leopard or just a really cool iPhone 5 case? Griffin's Moxy Big Cat iPhone Case is frosty fun for the holidays.

8. Griffin Crayola Classic Case for iPod Touch in Green

This one's actually for your iPod Touch, but the Griffin Crayola Classic Case in green will bring out the kid in you this Christmas.

9. HTC Raider TPU Case in Red

A good hard shell TPU case for your HTC phone, this shiny number has a distinctly festive look with its glistening red finish.

10. iLuv Festival Hard Shell Case for iPhone 5 in Green and White

The name says it all with iLuv's Festival case. Its soft minty green and white abstract design is like slapping the winter sky right on your iPhone 5.

A new leak hints the HTC 8S will be at Bell shortly. No word yet on if it'll come in Bell's signature color.

It's been a big week for Canadian cellphone carriers. As the push to stock the stores for Christmas rages on, most of the major carriers are either welcoming new devices to their lineups, or hinting at their imminent arrival as they begin stocking compatible accessories for the season's coolest phones.

So what's in store for you at your carrier? We've got the run-down of the latest news.

It's been a while since Bell initially announced it would be carrying HTC's 8S, the second of their flagship Windows Phone 8 devices. But, as Mobile Syrup notes, "it’s slipped way back behind the curtain and there’s been limited info about its pending release."

But this week, accessories for the HTC device – like cases, skins and protectors – started showing up in Bell's inventory, Mobile Syrup reported. And that means the 8S itself can't be far behind though there's no official date for availability yet.

Accessories like cases and skins for HTC's 8S showed up in Bell's inventory this week.

Oh, and for any Bell subscribers looking forward to the Samsung ATIV S, the device's arrival at the carrier is still slated for mid-December. So there's still a couple of weeks to wait, but the dummy devices have arrived at least.

Another Canadian carrier with a much lower profile has its own new arrival to boast of this week too. Koodo Mobile may be a little behind some of the bigger names but they've just announced their own release of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Koodo's got the Samsung Galaxy S III now, but only in Pebble Blue.

For a relatively new carrier, the smartphone's arrival isn't actually all that late, and it's nice that they'll be able to offer it up in time for the holidays. For the moment, it's only available in Pebble Blue and it's going for a cool $550 retail.

An Xbox Live Rewards survey listed the HTC Titan III among other smartphones that officially exist

As it does every month, the latest Xbox Live Rewards survey just made the rounds of gamers looking to earn some Microsoft points in exchange for their opinion. But this time, Microsoft may have given away more tha points.

This month's survey asked participants to rate how "excited" they were about the following smartphones: the iPhone 5, the Motorola Droid RAZR Max HD, the Nokia Lumia 920, The Samsung Galaxy S III, and the HTC Titan III...wait, what?!

The thing is, of the devices listed on the survey the HTC Titan III is the only one that doesn't officially exist. And its presence on the list has led to a lot of speculation about the possibly imminent launch of a new Windows Phone 8 HTC smartphone.

There are more than a few possibilities here. First, and simplest is that the survey's makers simply made an error and listed "Titan III" when they really meant to write "Titan II." The other theories, however, are more mysterious.

According to TechCrunch, there are other indications that might support the existence of the Titan III. So far, only two flagship Windows Phone 8 devices – the HTC 8S and HTC 8X – have been unveiled. But before their release, "a report from The Verge pointed to the existence of three new Windows Phones from the Taiwanese OEM."

Reports say the HTC 8X and HTC 8S ought to be accompanied by a third Windows Phone 8 flagship device

The 8S and 8X have since shown up as HTC's entry-level and mid-range Windows Phone 8 models, but says TechCrunch, that's left "a glaring hole where that third flagship-tier handset was apparently supposed to go."

That now leads us into the theory that the HTC Titan III and unreleased HTC Zenith may be one and the same. According to techCrunch, the Zenith's "purported spec sheet" shows an emphasis on large screen size with a "4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display and support for 42Mbps HSPA+."

The purported specs of the unreleased HTC Zenith match with the the HTC Titan II's 4.7" LCD 2 display

And big flashy screens have been the main selling points of the two first Titan models.  So it wouldn't be such a stretch if the newest HTC smartphone were to sport a 4.7" super LCD screen were branded under the Titan banner.

Clearly, all of this is unfounded speculation, based on what may very well be a typo. But we at Pure Mobile love a good mystery, and we're willing to take the bait and wait for leaks in the coming weeks.

It's shaping up to be a big week for Telus, and possibly a big one for its subscribers too.

For starters, reports Mobile Syrup, the Canadian smartphone carrier has been cooking up some new price plans and packages for a while now, including a promo launched this week.

The latest promotion – which is open to new and renewing subscribers in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada – offers a plan with unlimited calling Canada-wide and runs between $70 and $100 a month for between 1GB and 5GB of data.

That offer expires November 30, bu it's not the only card up Telus' sleeve. If unlimited nationwide calling doesn't quite cut it for you, the company is also mixing things up regarding heir international roaming packages, says a separate Mobile Syrup report.

And while the specifics of the new international roaming plans (including price), haven't been revealed, Telus promises that "full details will be available in December," when participating subscribers will get their first taste of "a bucket of minutes, text messages and data."

The successor to HTC's One X, the One X+ is likely to arrive at Telus within the next week or so

But even that's not Telus' biggest news of the week. Plans and packages are nice and all, but what people actually get excited about is cool gadgets.

A couple of days ago, we reported that HTC's Windows Phone 8X device would eventually making its way to the carrier, though we couldn't be sure of when. But now, it looks as though another HTC smartphone – the HTC One X+ – might be there first.

According to Mobile Syrup, Telus subscribers won't have to wait long for the successor to the HTC One X device:

"Although the HTC One X+ has been listed on TELUS’ site as “coming soon” for weeks, a small step forward has occurred. The dummy devices have arrived in stores, which means that a launch is imminent."

The custom HTC One X+ with Rihanna's "R" and "Toronto" city name on the back. Image courtesy of Mobile Syrup

Who does Rihanna think she is – Oprah? Maybe so, seeing as she's been all about the giveaways ever since she started her HTC-backed 777 World Tour.

The pop star's latest 7-concert circuit is taking her to 7 cities in 7 days, and she's reportedly been dishing out a "unique" plug for HTC's next One X device at every stop. Mobile Syrup reported today on her Canadian tour date in Toronto this past week, where Rihanna took a minute to select one lucky fan for a free custom Rihanna tour-branded HTC One X+.

As the next incarnation of the HTC One X, nobody has the device yet, Rihanna reminded the crowd, adding "except me."

The phone is totally customized, not only with the name of the tour date city on the back (in this case, Toronto) but also features the big "R" logo that appears prominently on her new album 'Unapologetic.' This is probably one situation where we'd actually recommend not using a case, unless you want to lose all the caché of a custom Rihanna phone.

As she introduced the device, Rihanna told her crowd, "this gift gives you total bragging rights, you understand me? not only because I gave it to you but because this is the next-level sh*t."

Sure, it's a bit of a shameless plug on Rihanna's part, but Riri and HTC at least handled it well by offering a giveaway, rather than just branding the tour without kicking a little something to the fans.

So which lucky concert-goer got the phone in the end? Judging by the video, Rihanna liked the bravado of an underage girl who managed to get in despite the show's 18+ age limit. "You are a rock star!" Rihanna told her, as she handed her the device.

Check out the video below for the whole deal.

A couple of weeks back on the Pure Mobile blog, we reported that HTC's new Windows Phone 8 device, the 8X, would be heading to Canada at most of the major carriers.

By this point, the device is already available at T-Mobile, Rogers, and Bell, but one leading Canadian carrier, Telus, was conspicuously missing from that list. But a Tweet from the Telus Support team, in response to a consumer question, assured Canadians that the carrier would indeed be receiving the smartphone:

"We will be carrying it," says Telus Support, "unfortunately I don't have a date."

It's a case of being a little late to the party, especially since Bell, T-Mobile and Rogers all seemed to be running a race to get the HTC 8X first, with release dates all within a day of one another.

And though the old saying goes, "better late than never," we can't help but feel that doesn't really apply when it comes to smartphones and their accessories.

In an industry where the latest is very often considered the greatest, and where consumers stand in line for hours to get their most recently coveted device just weeks ahead of the rest, we have to wonder why Telus isn't already on board with one of the season's most hyped Windows Phone 8 devices.

Hopefully, the yet undisclosed date that Telus Support referred to in their Tweet is sooner, rather than later.