Nintendo's already dipped its toes into motion-sensing handheld gaming with the gyro-equipped WarioWare: Twisted for the Game Boy Advance, but it looks like the company looks has even grander plans to let you make a fool of yourself in public, at least if a recent patent application is any indication.

ENGADGET: Nintendo patent application reveals plans for motion-sensing handheld

It might if a recently published patent application from the company actually pans out.

ENGADGET: Apple patent application suggests partial storage of music to speed up streaming

Touchscreens are still something of a novelty on regular point-and-shoot cameras, but it looks like they may now already be starting to make their trek to DSLRs -- at least if a recently published patent application from Canon is any indication.

ENGADGET: Canon patent application points to touchscreen DSLRs

In somewhat related news, Apple has also recently filed a patent application that would bring some fairly extensive new speech recognition options to the iPhone -- if it ever actually moves beyond a patent application, that is.

ENGADGET: Nuance voices found in OS X Lion, patent application suggests new iPhone speech / text capabilities

If ever there were a purgatory for ideas, it'd be the USPTO's patent application database.

ENGADGET: Pair of Apple patent applications set the stage for hearing aid-based social network

In part for this reason, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is likely to see increased numbers of provisional applications, which if done properly can be a cost-effective way to obtain an early priority date for a patent application.

FORBES: March 16, 2013: The United States Transitions To A 'First-Inventor-To-File' Patent System