Those who have been playing Pokemon games since the late 90s may remember the Pokemon Pikachu, a pedometer (that's peDOmeter, not PEdometer) that could unlock data on the original Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal games. For the Gold and Silver DS remakes, Nintendo is once again bundling a pedometer with the games, this time calling it the PokeWalker.

Aside from Nintendo, it looks like even 3rd-party accessory manufacturers are cashing in on the Wii's health benefits. Japan's Rakuten retailer has just sent out details on a Wiimote and Nintendo DS wrist strap made from bio-ceramics that, as advertised, will douse your wrist with far infrared rays.

From what we're reading from some sources (i.e., health sites, shopping catalogs), far infrared energy promotes several health benefits, such as improved circulation, and increased white blood cell count.

This, in turn, could mean improved immune functions, and in the Wiimote's case, a less likely chance you'll sprain your wrist from playing too long.

We're not too sure if this accessory really works (or is FDA-approved), but if you're curious enough to test this new-age peripheral, it's expected to launch in Japan on July 20, at a retail price of just ¥ 740 (US$ 6.31).

With the advent of WiFi and Bluetooth technology, some people sometimes forget about the original wireless tech - infrared. Without it, we'd still be walking to and from the TV set everytime we needed to change the channels. Well, Mark Doggen did remember and he's making it useful within the Cellphone and Nintendo DS arena. It's called the InfrareDS.

It's an Infrared (IrDA) function to the NDS. You can exchange data between IrDA devices (like cellphones and PDAs) and the NDS and vice versa via an infrared diode. No need to go through the MMC to get your data (pictures among many other stuff) across. It used to be that the program can only run on the DS Phat, however with the arrival of the G6 Lite Card, the DS Lite can do it too. So far, we've only scratched the surface of its uses for the NDS-kind.

We've covered it before, but last time he was only 60% done. What's he up to now? Where is he in the project? Read on to find out.

From what we can see from his Progress Bar page, he's on his way to a full program. So far, he has completed the Infrared beam capability, but still lacking in the graphical interface and touchscreen compatibility area. Well, you know what they say about eating elephants - you consume them piece by piece.

Compatibility issues. Unfortunately, not all mobilephones will be able to be capable of connecting with the NDS. For those interested, Mark has confirmed the following mobilephones to be compatible with his program: Sony Ericsson T310, Panasonic X60, Sony Ericsson K750i, and Nokia 8850. Currently, he's checking if the Siemens C65 can work with the NDS.

Congratulations, Mark! And with all that aptly stated, we here at the QJ labs would like to thank Badam for the tip.

We are all quite familiar with homebrew applications like games and programs for our DS. What we quite don't know is that somewhere in the DS universe (quite specifically in The Netherlands), Infrared function is being developed. And with 60% of all the work already done, it is fast nearing completion.

Dubbed InfrareDS, the idea was thought of by Mark (frozenone23@hotmail.com). And the whole project is exactly just that: it adds an IrDA to the Nintendo DS in just few minutes, allowing the user to send images and sounds from a mobile phone and vice versa.. As of now, InfrareDS is compatible with Sony Ericsson (T310, K750i),  Panasonic X60 and Nokia 8850.

Although it has not been tested yet for DS lite, InfrareDS features direct compatibility to all firmware versions of NDS, not to mention its high speed transmission capability. Currently, Mark is working on the touchscreen function and making a graphical interface.

We thank Kravos for this exciting heads up.