Love shooting pictures but hate being the only person behind the camera when those lovely group shots are taken? The XShot accessory ($24.95, www.xshotpix.com) from XShot LLC is a telescopic rod that attaches to any compact digital camera or handheld camcorder and lets the shooter be part of the subject — no more straining to get the camera at full arm's length. The company says the 3-foot reach allows most cameras to capture as many as five people in one photo. The rod shrinks to 9 inches and weighs 3.9 ounces.

Want to see an organized shopping list, without doing all the organizing? Users of the SmartShopper ($149.99, www.smartshopperusa.com) from SmartShopper Electronics Inc. simply push a button and speak into the unit, telling it the name of a grocery item or errand. The SmartShopper sorts the items on the list for quick reference later. The device can spit out a printed list before the user heads to the store.

OK, all that stuff before can be useful, but Tengu (about $38, available at several Web sites) from Solid Alliance is just for fun. It's a robot-faced, USB-powered thingy that lip-syncs to any tunes it hears from the computer. The light show features eight digital facial "expressions."

Sights and sounds

Teens and tweens might love the miVdo fx ($150, www.blueboxtoys.com or www.b2stuff.com) from b2, a division of Blue Box International. The camcorder lets the user film and edit their own music videos, complete with 18 special effects, right in the camera — no computer needed. Users can record music from their iPods or MP3 players while taping, and 10 of the special effects can run automatically during recording. Oh, and it can also take still photos.

The sky's the limit with mySKY ($399, www.meade.com) from Meade Instruments Corp. It's a handheld guide to the night sky. Just point and shoot and sky maps appear on its LCD screen. But it also has audio, video, still images and text about more than 30,000 objects floating around out there, including planets, stars, constellations, satellites and the international space station. Updated object information, tours and program improvements are downloadable from the Internet.

How about the voodoo that Vudu do, I mean does, so well? The device from Vudu Inc. ($399, www.vudu.com) delivers movies directly to the user's TV — a godsend for people who hate trudging to the video store. About 5,000 available movies — more are added each week — can be rented or purchased and viewed in DVD quality. Rentals cost between 99 cents and $3.99, with purchases between $4.99 and $19.99. There are no activation or subscription fees, and parental controls can limit access to certain types of movies.

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