Hello and welcome to Tech Insider's first-ever technology power rankings!
In this weekly feature, you can learn about all the hottest things trending in the world of technology.
Our rankings reflect the constantly changing attitudes towards tech products and services, which are always improving, getting worse, or getting replaced by rivals.
Here's our inaugural power rankings in tech, for the week of May 1 through May 8.
10. This "smart" air conditioner
The Noria air conditioner debuted on Kickstarter last week and it's taken the world by storm . Most people need some kind of cooling system in their home, and the Noria is small, light, attractive, easy to install, and easy to use. There's a reason this project blew past its goal in just a few days thanks to crowdfunding. Check it out.
9. Apple
Despite its dominance in the tech industry, it feels like there's a lull around Apple right now. iPhone sales recently declined for the first time. The iPad and Apple Watch are doing fine sales-wise, but they're not generating much excitement. That's probably why Apple CEO Tim Cook went on CNBC's "Mad Money" this week to talk about future products. He promised Jim Cramer, and by extension the world, that "we have great innovation in the pipeline" and "we are going to give you things that you can't live without, that you just don't even know you need today." Apple will show off some new products and services at WWDC next month, hopefully we'll get a glimpse of what Apple's been working on behind the scenes.
8. Amazon
The biggest online retailer has been on a roll lately. Capitalizing on its success with Echo, Amazon released two new Echo products last month, and more recently it introduced a high-end e-reader called the Kindle Oasis. So what if it's crazy expensive? It's really cool! On the software side of things, Amazon last week began offering its massive video catalogue as standalone service you can access for $9 a month a la Netflix. This is good news for Amazon's original shows like "Transparent," but it's also good for Amazon's Prime service, since the new video service should encourage people to instead access Amazon's $99 a year service that includes Amazon Video, plus a ton of other perks.
All of these new products — the new Echos, the new Kindle, and the standalone video service — are designed to encourage people to buy into Amazon Prime, and this smart strategy appears to be working extremely well. Amazon had a stellar earnings report last week, and the company's various businesses, especially related to consumer tech, are looking very strong.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider