Few analysts are betting against the success of the iPhone 5. Slated for release later this week, however, some are expecting Apple’s latest iPhone to actually enlarge the entire economy. “The iPhone 5 … could get credit for something Congress, the White House and Federal Reserve have struggled to do: boost the U.S. economy in a measurable way,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Sales of the device could add between a quarter and half a percentage point to annualized economic growth in the fourth quarter, according to J.P. Morgan’s chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli.  

Sometime this fall, Spotify is reportedly planning to launch a browser-based version of its music streaming service, along with improvement to its mobile app. Currently, the music streaming service’s desktop app offers a specific section where they show off third-party applications that use the company’s API, TechCrunch notes. “Adding its app center to the mobile app would make a lot of sense for Spotify as it seeks to make its service more ubiquitous.”         

With 1 billion mobile phone users, China is poised to overtake the U.S. this year as the world's top smartphone market. Along with other mobile software makers, however, the region represents as many challenges as opportunities for Google. For one, “China already has homegrown software that is trying to take on Android,” The Wall Street Journal writes. As company executives tell WSJ: “Alibaba Group … is seeing stronger demand from handset makers for its Aliyun mobile operating software.” 

Hoping to connect the youngest members of your household, Toys "R" Us plans to launch a tablet by late October. Set to retail for $149.99, the Tabeo will run on the Android 4.0 operating system. It features a 7-inch touch screen, Wi-Fi access and a slew of other features, which, according to PCMag.com, essentially put it on par with “adult tablets.” The device will also feature robust parental controls, as well as software and content just for kids.  

With participation from Kleiner Perkins and existing investors, Andreessen Horowitz just led a $68 million funding round in Quirky. Who or what is Quirky? Not unlike Kickstarter, it’s a crowdsourced invention platform, which encourages people to come together and see new products through their conception and development stages. “The company, which has raised $97 million to date, says that the funding will be used to expand its platform into a number of verticals, such as Quirky Electronics, Quirky Kitchen, and Quirky Toys,” PandoDaily reports. 

Presumably, giving consumers confidence that their mobile data is secure is good for Google’s bottom-line. Complicating those efforts, as The Wall Street Journal reports, the U.S. government wants to give law-enforcement agents the right to obtain passwords to crack into smartphones of suspects. Holding its ground, Google recently refused to unlock an alleged pimp's cellphone powered by its Android software -- “even after the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant.” 

With Apple in its crosshairs, Amazon unveiled a series of new Kindle tablets on Thursday. Most remarkable, as The Washington Post reports, is the relatively affordability of the new gadgets. “The new devices were priced aggressively,” WaPo writes. “The company’s first full-fledged tablet with a screen nearly the same size as the newest iPad will cost $200 less.” How does Amazon plan to profit from such a strategy? By an increase in media and ecommerce sales, which it expects the adoption of its new devices to facilitate. 

Under the stewardship of Marissa Mayer, Yahoo has no plans to exit the ad technology business. “We see it as a core element to being a successful, global Internet company,” Michael Barrett, Yahoo’s chief revenue officer, tells The Wall Street Journal, regarding the Right Media exchange and the APT platform. What’s more, while Barrett has heard the calls to streamline Yahoo’s operations, he says the company is committed to keeping its technology for automated display ads in house. “If there was ever any doubt, and I’m not saying there was, it’s dispelled."

Though there’s still no sign of Instagram on Facebook, the acquisition is officially complete. Facebook had to wait for the FTC to wrap up an investigation into the deal, which didn’t happen until late last month. As Engadget reports: “Instagram has also confirmed that its team will be making the move to Facebook's offices, but it assures folks that the ‘Instagram app and its features will stay the same one you know and love.’” Facebook, meanwhile, says it is "committed to building and growing Instagram independently." 

Whether or not consumers will notice, the government is assuming the right to track geo-location data recorded by their mobile devices. As Wired.com reports, the Obama administration this week told a federal court that the public has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in cellphone location data, and, as such, the authorities are free to obtain documents detailing a person’s movements from wireless carriers without a probable-cause warrant.