Logitech Harmony 700 Universal Remote Announced

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Logitech have confirmed that they are extending their Harmony range of universal remotes with the announcement of their new Logitech Harmony 700 remote which dispenses with the touchscreen of previous Harmony’s instead opting for a color LCD display and good old fashioned button control – resulting in a markedly lower price point than its touchscreen siblings.

Designed to ‘help simplify your home entertainment’ the Logitech Harmony 700 is billed as being able to replace up to six remotes thus offering pretty extensive possible consolidation whilst offering hassle-free programmability courtesy of Logitech’s PC/Mac based software that’ll happily pull any codes that aren’t already covered by the Harmony 700 and set the remote to play ball via the device’s USB connectivity. Having said that, thanks to the Harmony 700 offering support for over 500 bands purportedly totalling over 225,0000 devices out of the box the chances are you’re a/V devices are going to be covered.

In terms of ease of use whilst the lack of a touchscreen may seem a retrograde step the fact that individual appliances can be programmed to their own keys should mean that using the 700 should actually prove somewhat more convenient – after all you’ll not need to scroll through screen based menus to control your HDTV or, say, switch on your PS3/Xbox. Additionally, from what we can gather, macro programming appears to be on offer with Logitech claiming that a single button can be programmed to enable you to watch a DVD (ie., turn on your TV, turn on and play your DVD player). Whether said buttons can be programmed to remove your partner’s ROMCOM from the player and insert something actually watchable is, however, an entirely different matter. We suspect not.

“Millions of families around the world are investing in better home-entertainment systems, complete with flat-screen TVs and other devices; however, each new device adds another remote to the coffee table and another level of complexity to what should be an enjoyable experience,” said Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s Harmony business unit who introduced the Harmony 700. “If you have a half-dozen components and an AV receiver, the new Logitech Harmony 700 is the smartest way to get the most out of that setup.”

The Logitech Harmony 700 universal remote is set to become available this month (September) and will set you back around $150.

[via| Geeky Gadgets]