Meet the last remote you will ever have to buy…….unless your dog happens to eat it.

{mosgoogle}MEET HARMONY

Logitech has always been one of the most trusted names for computer peripherals and has slowly expanded their product line to cover more consumer electronics products. Today, we’ll take a close look at the Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360. Although this model is specifically designed for the Xbox 360, it will also perform all the regular functions that you would expect from a universal remote. At first glance, you can easily tell that Harmony remotes are in a class by themselves. There are basically two main things that concern me when choosing a suitable universal remote, aesthetics and functionality. We put the Harmony 360 through weeks of regular use to see how it held up. Let’s also not forget the most important question everyone should be asking…..will this remote truly be able to replace the dozens of remotes scattered in my living room?? Let’s find out.

First off, universal remotes have never been viewed as very exciting in the world of electronics. Well, that all changes with the introduction of the Logitech Harmony for the Xbox 360. This remote scores very high on the ‘wow’ meter and will catch the eye of all your friends and family. In fact, when I first started using the Harmony, it was getting more attention than my Xbox 360. I recall various conversations that ensued similar to this:

Friend - “Whoa, what’s that!?”
Me - “Well, that’s the new Xbox 360. It was pretty hard to get, but I was fortunate enough to get the premium on the first day…..”
Friend – “No, no….I mean the thing with the LCD screen on top of the console. That’s cool!”
Me – “Oh. You mean the remote.”

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The Harmony 360 sells direct from Logitech for $129.99. However, a real time price search shows that many of Logitech's dealers sell for less. You should be able to find the remote for less than $100.00. Still that's quite a bit to pay for a remote. Is it worth it? Let's find out.

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AESTHETICS

{mosgoogle}The main distinguishing feature of Harmony remotes is the LCD display on the face of the remote. Most people don’t have LCD displays on their remotes, so this definitely draws their attention. I’ve come to learn that anything with a LCD display on it will be viewed as ‘cool’. You can’t seem to go wrong with this feature. Logitech is aware of this and incorporates this feature well with most of their products (A good example is the MX 5000 Laser). It will only be a matter of time before consumer electronics manufacturers begin to take this too far. We’ll see LCD TVs with a built-in LCD to display the volume or some genius will design a digital camera that is encased completely in a LCD display. I digress, but you get the point. The LCD on the Harmony 360 isn’t there to just draw attention though. It also acts as the centerpiece for the convenient one-touch activity control that we will touch on later in the review.

The remote is housed in a sexy white casing with chrome accents that matches the Xbox 360 quite nicely. The profile is very slim and the battery compartment is shaped in a manner that provides a very natural grip for your hand. One of the coolest features of the Harmony for 360 is the green backlight that illuminates the LCD and all the buttons. This green glow is a perfect compliment for an Xbox accessory and definitely increases the cool factor. Each key is individually labeled and comfortably spaced apart. Some of the keys seem a little stiff, but I’m sure I’ll get used to this over time. Overall, the Harmony for the Xbox 360 carries a very sophisticated look and hits a homerun in the aesthetics department.

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FUNCTIONALITY

{mosgoogle}The purpose of the Harmony 360 is to bring consumers one step closer to reaching the attractive goal of a unified home entertainment experience. Casual onlookers may balk at the price tag and brush off this universal remote as another gimmick, but I guarantee you that there is enough functionality behind this product to warrant every single cent that goes toward this purchase.

For starters, the Harmony 360 can command up to 12 devices. Custom activities can be configured on the remote, so that choosing one particular activity will power up every piece of required hardware resting on your Ivar from Ikea. The delight of having this convenience is difficult to fully convey using just words. For example, if you were to the choose the activity ‘Play Xbox 360’, the following would occur: TV turns on and selects the proper input, Xbox 360 would power on, and your Dolby Digital receiver would turn on, set to the proper input as well. It definitely brought a smile to my face the first time I tried it. Four different activities are displayed on the LCD at one time and they can be easily selected by the touch of a button.

Before I lose anyone talking about the detailed functionality of the Harmony 360, I should address the only reason anybody shops for a universal remote in the first place…..to put end to the ridiculous juggling of multiple remotes. Logitech’s latest Harmony offering will most definitely meet this need. Once you connect your remote to your PC via the provided USB cable, you are seconds away from accessing Logitech’s online database that features information on more than 100,000 infrared devices originating from over 3,000 manufacturers!

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Regular universal remotes tend to be difficult to setup or require a lot of time to track down the corresponding code to control a specific device. Some may not work with all your devices and others lack certain buttons and functions that were present on your original remote. These hassles are non-existent with the deep functionality of the Harmony 360. The setup predicament is addressed with the simple internet setup that Logitech has made available. After you create an online login, a setup wizard guides you through the entire process of configuring all your components to work with the Harmony. This setup information includes the proper codes for all your devices and the components that will be involved in your custom activities. All this information is then transferred back to the remote and stored in memory.

{mosgoogle}All the functionality of the Harmony 360 is tied together by Logitech’s custom software that is provided with the remote. This software is used for your initial setup and is the central command for all remote configurations and updates. You can also access support and troubleshooting sections that will help get you through any problems that you may encounter. The most intriguing and useful feature of the provided software is without a doubt the option to teach your Harmony 360 new infrared commands. After setting up your devices with the remote, you can further customize the buttons to match any command that may be missing from your original component remote. For example, the original remote for my TV had a button to turn close captioning on/off. I couldn’t locate this function on the Harmony 360 after the initial setup, so all I had to do was select the learning option in the software. A new wizard walked me through a short process that involved pointing the original remote at the sensor locate in the back of the Harmony remote and pressing the missing function button. In a matter of minutes, the Harmony 360 had learned the new function and awaited this new addition to be assigned to a specific key.

The Harmony 360’s strongest feature is also one of its few drawbacks. The comprehensive list of functions provided is nothing short of amazing. However, in order to make the most of all these functions, a generous amount of time must be dedicated to tweak all your settings. For those that are not as techno-savvy, this may deter them from unlocking all the great features of the Harmony 360. The initial setup only took me about 15 minutes, but adjusting all the settings to perfectly suit my needs required a lot more time afterwards. In the end, I found that the Harmony 360 provided superior functionality, but at the price of simplicity for the basic user.

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CONCLUSION

{mosgoogle}As technophiles are seduced into buying more and more components to form the ultimate home entertainment setup, the role of the universal remote will hold greater significance. Burrowing through couch cushions to look for one of seven remotes is a pastime we can all do without. It’s also important to keep in mind that in the average household, there is only one person that truly knows how to use the home entertainment system; that would be the person that set it up. With the Harmony 360’s programmable activity buttons, it won’t matter who performed the setup, everyone in the house will be able to enjoy a DVD movie or an afternoon of videogames.

For the lucky owners of 360s, you will find that this remote has special console-specific buttons that make it very simple to navigate around the 360 dashboard. All the basic buttons on the Microsoft remote can be found on the Harmony 360. This means you’ll still be able to power on/off your console, navigate through your music, pictures, and play DVD movies. You can also control a Windows XP Media Center PC and play Xbox Live Arcade games that do not require the use of the analog sticks or triggers.

When Logitech first announced a new accessory for the Xbox 360, many were expecting a new wireless controller or a new headset, maybe even a true force feedback steering wheel. Many people were caught off guard when they found out that a universal remote would be the first official peripheral offered by Logitech for the 360. After spending some quality time with this product, I’m glad that Logitech opted to release a Harmony remote with compatibility for the 360. It is revolutionary product that transforms the role of the universal remote from just controlling devices to establishing relationships between the many devices in your home entertainment system. I recommend this remote not only to Xbox 360 owners, but to anyone that is searching for a universal remote that will do it all.

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