The guys are back in full force, talking technology!  Topics on this episode of the NBTA podcast:

* It’s 2017 – why are we still using fax?  Jacob has a teeny-tiny rant to get off his chest.
* NAMCO founder Masaya Nakamura passes away at the age of 91 – an end of an era for a company that brought out such amazing arcade games as Galaga, Pole-position, and Pac-Man.
* Huawei sets its sights on being the world’s largest smartphone maker by 2021 with a plan to begin aggressively marketing in the west as well as to continue to grow in China and expand into India.  Can they pull it off without partnerships with the major American carriers?
* Todd reviews and gives his MPOW on-ear Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones a pass.  At $38 they’re affordable, but he says it’s a case of you-get-what-you-pay-for!
* Fitbit announces they’re cutting110 jobs as wearable sales slow.  Citing possible market saturation as one culprit, Fitbit has announced the cost-saving cuts to bring expenses in line with less-than-expected fourth quarter results.  The cuts represent nearly 6% of Fitbit’s worldwide employee base.
* Xiaomi has announced it’s skipping Mobile World Congress this year.  The Chinese smartphone maker isn’t planning on attending MWC217 in Barcelona in February leaving the industry wondering why.  There were rumors that Xiaomi would be showing off their Mi6 phone, but that doesn’t appear to be the case (Samsung is also not planning on announcing the Galaxy S8 line at MWC, either).  A smart move for the once-third-largest smartphone maker?  If they want to crack into the west, it seems like a curious move to make.
* Todd brings up an interesting article about the rise of the mini-app – specifically China’s WeChat’s “app app revolution”. It could spell trouble for both Apple and Google down the road as users begin to care less about the operating system on their mobile devices and more about the app in which they spend the majority of their time and usage.  Social apps like Facebook and WeChat keep gaining more and more screentime and look to make mini in-app-apps accessible to encourage users to stay within the apps and reduce the friction of using new services.

What we love
Jeff loves his Orange Leather G-Case apple watch band: http://amzn.to/2jRG418
Todd loves the site footballoutsiders.com for its play-by-play statistical analysis of NFL plays going back to 1989!  From Todd, “Spend a couple of hours there this week so you can “wow” all of the fans at the Sports Ball party with your intimate knowledge of DVOA and DYAR.”
Jacob loves his USB digital meter.  Monitor the capabilities of your USB cables, battery packs, and the amount of charge you’re putting into your mobile device batteries all for about $10. http://amzn.to/2knHCD0