Hands on with Logitech's New Harmony One Universal Remote
By Chris Boylan
One Remote to Rule Them All
At CES in Las Vegas today, Logitech is unveiling a brand new model in their Harmony line of intelligent universal remote controls. The "One" ($249.99, shipping in February) combines the best of touch screen technology with a newly enhanced hard-button layout designed to allow you to simply (and single-handedly) become master of your home theater domain, no matter how complex your system may be.
Logitech's Harmony line of universal remotes have been among the strongest performers in the category since their introduction several years ago. With no help from a custom installer, anyone who is reasonably handy with a computer can program a Harmony remote to control a complicated multi-device home entertainment system quickly and easily.
Logitech's Web-based programming wizard simply asks you for the brands and model numbers of your entertainment system components (TV, DVD, cable box, etc.) and then asks how you want to use them in simple, logically named "activities." For an activity such as "Watch TV," a Harmony remote might power up your television, switch to its HDMI input, power up a high def satellite receiver, and power up a receiver switching to the cable box input. After the turn-on process is done (I'm talking about the system, not the user), the volume buttons on the remote will operate the receiver volume while the "aspect" button on the color screen operates the TV and the channel up/down buttons control the satellite receiver.
We have used and reviewed several of the Harmony remotes in the past, and I can say after using the "One" for about a week, it may be Logitech's best effort to date. The logical button layout, comfortable shape, bright white backlighting and highly responsive color touch screen combine to make a new remote that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
The
Harmony 880 - their first with a high-res color screen - has been a fixture in my own home theater system since I first reviewed it. But the screen was for display only (not touch screen) and the initial units developed charging problems over time due to the design of the charging contacts and base. This is one of the issues addressed in the One with a totally new charging system designed to keep the remote in constant contact with the charger when inserted.
The
Harmony 1000 followed the 880 as Logitech's first foray into full-fledged touch-screen remotes. It featured a nice-looking and responsive screen, but personally I'm not a fan of touch screen-only remotes because they lack any tactile feedback - it's impossible to see what you're doing without looking at the screen and that takes your eyes off the BIG screen in front of you which is really not ideal.
The One replaces the 880's color screen with a color touch screen with 3 clearly readable activity labels, but keeps the "hard" buttons for things like the numeric keypad, menu and transport controls. Logical button layouts, slightly different button shapes with contours and ridges make it extremely easy to find the right buttons by feel, allowing you to keep your eyes on the ball (or whatever it is you might be watching on your entertainment system).
The remote's ergonomic design makes it a joy to use for even the most complicated home theater tasks. The Harmony One will be showcased this week in the Logitech CES booth (No. 35512, South Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center). Look for the Harmony One online or in a store near you as early as next month.
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