I've had the Quik Pod for about 6 months and it really does work as advertised. Here are a few tips to help you use it more effectively:
* Leave the tripod legs attached all the time: This lets you extend your reach even more by folding the tripod legs inward and holding them instead of the handle when taking a shot. You can also quickly fold them out and set the Quik Pod on a table or the ground to take even longer shots of yourself (or simply to steady the camera so you can use a slower shutter speed, no flash, and/or lower ISO setting for more natural low-light shots).
* Make sure your camera is in the right focusing mode: Many cameras will immediately set the focus when you press the shutter button, even when the self-timer is on. This can lead to out-of-focus shots with the Quik Pod, since you must press the shutter button before extending the camera away from you. If your camera does this, try changing to "continuous focus" mode (which will often be set if you choose the camera's "Sports" scene mode) -- this will cause your camera to focus continually right up to the moment the shutter fires.
* More on focusing: You can also help keep your photos in focus without using continuous focus mode by setting a smaller aperture (higher "f-stop" number) using the camera's manual or "aperture priority" mode. Smaller apertures give you greater depth of field, which means that more of the picture will be in focus. I've taken quite a few shots with large apertures where the camera mistakenly focused on something in the background, so that my face was out of focus. Using smaller apertures helps prevent this problem and they also keep more of what's behind you in focus (which is desirable if there is something scenic in the background). Of course, if your camera has the new face detection feature that tries to recognize and focus on the faces it "sees", then this will be less of a problem for you.
* Use it as a tripod more often: If you retract the Quik Pod to its shortest length and use it as a tabletop tripod, it is very sturdy and will allow you to shoot great photos in low light by turning off your flash and letting the camera use a slower shutter speed. This eliminates any "shake" that might be caused by your hands when trying to shoot handheld without a flash, which can cause blurry photos. Of course, this is less of a problem if your camera has an image stabilizer feature, but a tripod makes low light shots even better regardless of your camera's features.
* Hold it low to capture a toddler's point of view: The world can look very different to someone 30 inches tall. Take some shots holding your Quik Pod down and away from you to capture the "land of giants" view that a small child sees without having to squat or kneel down. You can even let the camera be upside down when you take such photos -- just flip them on the computer after you download them from your camera.
Enjoy your Quik Pod!