Imagine that you could buy a tiny USB-powered box that detected your motion like Microsoft’s Kinect, only instead of watching you jump around a room, it watched your hands and fingers. Imagine that the box was sensitive enough to track the tip of a pencil tracing out letters in a 1cm square of space, and to turn that into accurate handwriting on the screen.

Amazingly, that box is available for preorder right now. It’s called the Leap, and it works with your Mac.

All the major mobile platform companies, including Apple, are working on solutions for “contactless payments” and digital wallets — the use of a phone as a credit card. Google’s Android supports NFC, or near-field communication. Google Wallet enables payments from phones.

Everyone has been waiting for Apple to catch up. The company has a pile of patents that reference a mobile digital wallet service called “iWallet.”

An analyst this week predicted something shocking: Instead of (or in addition to) adding NFC to future iPhones, Apple will use Bluetooth 4.0 for iWallet, a story first reported on Cult of Mac by John Brownlee.

One stunning fact about this prediction is that the wireless hardware has already been deployed at scale. Every major product Apple has shipped in the past year, including the iPhone and iPad, supports Bluetooth 4.0.

All Apple needs to do to make iWallet a reality is ship an app.

Another stunning fact is that Bluetooth 4.0 has a range of over 160 feet. That means participating retail stores can function like Apple Stores — without cash registers. The point of sale can be anywhere in the store. Restaurant diners can pay from the table — without the waiter being involved.

I think Apple wants to kill the cash register. Here’s why they might succeed.

According to Foss Patents, Apple filed a motion for an immediate US ban of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 yesterday. This comes in the wake of Monday’s Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling that was partially in favor of Apple.

If Apple’s motion succeeds, there will then be a US ban in place against three major Android device makers. Last December, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) banned specific HTC products based on an Apple patent and this past Friday, the ITC banned some Motorola devices based on a Microsoft patent. Seems like litigation is the new weapon of choice in this war of supremacy.

By now, I’m sure you may have heard about how U.S. Customs is holding all of the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE phones hostage as they investigate allegations over patent infringement stemming from a ruling Apple won against HTC back in December. The ban essentially went into effect in April of 2012, but what most of us don’t understand is why the investigation at Customs? HTC has already created a work around for the infringement and even responded back in December about it:

There’s nothing that really needs changing about Apple’s patented “Slide to Unlock” functionality, but ever since Apple introduced the Smart Cover for the iPad 2, there’s been a conceptual disconnect between how you unlock an iPhone — by sliding — and how you unlock an iPad — by unfolding an origami-like cover off of the display.

It’s not really anything Apple needs to fix, but short of releasing a tiny little iPhone-sized smart cover, I think this “Fold To Unlock” design created by Anton Kudin is just an excellent conceptual bridge between the lockscreen and the smart cover.

Check out the concept in its full, high-res glory below.

This is kind of neat. Back in early 2011, Apple patented an idea for a way for drivers to control the tunes playing on their iPhones or iPods without taking their hands off the wheel.

The solution? A tiny little ring that fits on your steeling wheel with an iPod clickwheel on top.

Talk to Beasty Design. Unfortunately they don’t actually slide to unlock. That’s patented.

One recurring theme from many large companies is that Apple doesn’t act like other enterprise technology companies. It’s a common complaint that CIOs and IT leaders have been making for years. As Apple products have entered more and more businesses, the refrain has gotten louder.

According to Politico, Apple treats lawmakers in Washington in much the same way, which is causing similar reactions in the halls of Congress. While Apple may be able to shrug off concerns about its approach to businesses, it may not be so lucky when it comes Washington insiders.

The Touchtype is a new Kickstarter project that aims to be the ultimate case for iPad typists. Like the Incase Origami Workstation, the Touchtype conveniently holds an Apple wireless keyboard and iPad inside a thin design.

Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard can be stored underneath the iPad, and the case itself props up any iPad model to let you type. With support for all of Apple’s tablets and a sleek, utilitarian design, the Touchtype looks like an awesome accessory for those who still want to use a physical keyboard with the iPad.

It’s likely this would be an entirely different story if Steve Jobs was still at Apple’s helm, but the Cupertino company has now agreed to drop a number of its infringement claims against Samsung, roughly cutting the case in half, in a bid to ensure that a trial goes ahead this summer.

Likewise, Samsung has agreed to do the same — dropping five of its 12 complaints  — but both companies continue to bicker over the “copycat products” that have made Samsung the world’s number one smartphone vendor.