If you thought
Logitech was going to rest on the laurels of the Harmony 880, think again. The Harmony One looks to pick up where the 880 left off; it takes everything we love about the 880 and steps it up by replacing the
terrible buttons with our favorite raised type, and the LCD screen goes touch screen to boot. PJ from
PC Magazine appreciates the new ergonomic layout and touch screen, but misses being able to access the LCD screen without looking down at the remote. The charger base was also revised, but no word on if it is more reliable -- PJ does say that he was seeing about a week of battery life. In the end, the Harmony One is a nice upgrade to the 880, but considering that it's priced almost twice that of the Harmony 550, we're not sure it's doubly good.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ken F @ Jan 6th 2008 5:52AM
Having played with this remote, I just have to say...wow!
Logitech finally did their homework and got it right. They finally designed a remote that was comfortable and easy to use by feel.
The 880 is a piece of garbage compared to this remote.
Galley @ Jan 6th 2008 8:26AM
Yeah, but does it have Bluetooth to work with the PS3? Yeah, I didn't think so. Try again next year, Logitech.
Shape @ Jan 6th 2008 9:29AM
Why would anyone tailor their remote to just one IR-less device? Sony is the one that dropped the ball, here, by not conforming to the home theater standard.
Omatsei @ Jan 6th 2008 11:53AM
It may be Sony's (and Nintendo's, by the way) fault originally, but since I can't buy a PS3 (or Wii) without bluetooth, it becomes Logitech's headache now. I have the 880, but I won't replace it with ANYTHING unless it has bluetooth support. The whole point of having a Universal Remote is to control everything with one remote. If I can't do that, then what's the point of having one?
Larry @ Jan 6th 2008 8:49AM
Nice Report Ben. The remote looks sweet.
Justin @ Jan 6th 2008 10:04AM
Sounds cool. Is there an RF version available? Will it update over WiFi? Is there a release date?
GhostDoggy @ Jan 6th 2008 10:17AM
Shape: "Why would anyone tailor their remote to just one IR-less device? Sony is the one that dropped the ball, here, by not conforming to the home theater standard."
Shape, can you direct me to a standard's body that stated IR was going to be 'the standard' or even 'a standard' and then point me to where it suggests that Bluetooth shouldn't be used as one of the common in-home communications technologies?
BTW, IR sucks donkey. :) While I am not advocating Sony or the PS3, I have to give credit to the Bluetooth implementation in the PS3, from remote/device registration to the console to its ability to not having to POINT' the remote at something to get it to work (ahem, like IR).
And the nice thing about Bluetooth in my personal experience is that it appears to work better than traditional RF when one has their components in a closet of closed rack. So, unless you have all your junk sitting out illuminating the theater room instead of allowing the movie to do that (lol), maybe Bluetooth is worth consider in a 3rd party remote for more things than just the Sony PS3.
Shape @ Jan 6th 2008 10:57AM
You are saying that IR *isn't* the standard remote technology? What home theater devices out there don't come with IR inputs? I can name one, the PS3. Yes, there are different IR variations, but all of them can by synthesized easily with a $1 microprocessor and an IR LED.
Bluetooth is more expensive than IR. I'm not even certain that you can sync one device with multiple hosts, which may make it a poor choice for a universal remote. You are also assuming that Sony will allow other companies to sync any bluetooth device with the PS3. So far, there aren't even any bluetooth devices (including controllers) that use bluetooth with the PS3. The wireless guitars all have dongles, for example.
When bluetooth is used as a remote technology for a majority of home theater device, then perhaps it can replace IR as the standard. But even Sony only uses it on one device, and that was only because they were too cheap to include an IR input on it.
kastonie @ Jan 6th 2008 11:43AM
A big standard in the home theater control arena is RS-232 and sony did not add this connection method on their system either. Also, its a ton easier to implement ir to rs232 instead of sonys bluetooth protocol. And maybe in your low end home theater the ps3 is the centerpiece of your setup, but go talk to the cedia guys and tell them you think the ps3 is a home theater component and they will laugh at you...
Vidikron (FU) @ Jan 7th 2008 10:52AM
@kastonie
Well, talk about whatever overpriced snake oil products that flood the HT market you want, but the PS3 is indeed a fine BR player. It may have a couple of flaws (most of which are fixable with firmware updates), but considering it's the only profile 2.0 capable player on the market it has a leg up on anything else out there.
Josh @ Jan 6th 2008 10:53AM
They're all crap compared to MX Universal's stuff. While I appreciate the ease of use factor and the revisions I really dislike having to look at my remote every time I want to do something, i.e. the no hard-button touch screen. The ability to change the timing of macros and other tweaks need to be added as I doubt it'd be that difficult to implement.
kurapika @ Jan 14th 2008 11:49PM
The 880 is a piece of garbage compared to this remote.
I just have to say "WOW" while sitting on my chair having played with this remote...
At last, Logitech did their homework. Remote was designed successfully and comfortable and easy to use by feel.
morikaweb @ Feb 29th 2008 5:46AM
I dont understand why the PS3 would not be considered a HT item?
As far as I know it is the most advanced BlueRay player on the marker. Whats more with the ability to run Linux it is easy to turn it into a complex, Linux based, low profile media extender with built in wifi, and BlueRay.
As far as crying about lack of IR support, big deal it is perfectly easy to add IR support especially if your running Linux on it.