Gizmodo: logitech harmony 1100

Logitech Harmony 1100 Touchscreen Universal Remote [Lightning Review]

Jason Chen — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT

The Gadget: The Logitech Harmony 1100, a touchscreen, color universal remote that follows up the Harmony 1000 as the top-end unit in Logitech's remote line.

The Price: $500

The Verdict: It's good at what it's supposed to be, but it's very expensive and suffers from the fact that touchscreen remotes, as a concept, are not that usable.

Compared to the Logitech Harmony 1000, Logitech's previous high-end touchscreen remote, the 1100 is definitely more polished. The black matte finish feels nicer in your hand, and the UI has prettier (and better laid out) icons. There's also slightly more customization options in the software program you use to customize the buttons compared to the 1000—so much so, that you can't carry over your settings into the new software version. Definitely a pain if you want to upgrade.

However, the 1100 has the same problem as the 1000, which is that it's only usable by right-handers (all the physical buttons are on the right), and that the touchscreen virtual buttons are only usable if you actually look at the remote. If you're the type of person that always look at your remote anyway, that's not a big deal, but TiVo owners (and Logitech 5XX, 6XX and 8XX series users) should have memorized button placement and be able to dial up a recorded show on your DVR without glancing down.

If you're set on buying a $500 touchscreen remote with customizable buttons that actually show what function they do next to the button, the 1100 is better than the 1000. It works as well as the other Logitech remotes when it comes down to actually controlling all the devices you have. But if this is your first universal remote, we'd go for one of the 5XX series, which cost about 1/8 the price when it's on sale. [Logitech]

Logitech Harmony 1100 Goes on Sale for $500 [Home Theater]

Mark Wilson — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:30:00 EST

We first told you about the Logitech's flagship Harmony 1100 touchscreen universal remote last month at CES, and now it's available at retailers right on schedule.

The big upgrades over the $300 Harmony 1000 are a new black anodized aluminum body and a now-customizable touchscreen. (Read about it more here.) Remember when silver was the upgrade color? Yeah, now it's black again—at manufacturers other than Apple even.

And I'm so sick of silver that they've totally sucked me in. Damn you and your clever anodized alunimum, Logitech! Damn you! [Newegg Thanks Ron!]

Logitech Harmony 1100 Touch Remote Brings New Look, Customizable Controls [Ces 2009]

Sean Fallon — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:10:00 EST

Logitech's 1100 goes above and beyond its predecessor with a black anodized aluminum finish and the ability to customize the controls on the 3.5-inch touchscreen.

Beyond that, things have remained fairly unchanged. It still handles as many as 15 devices from a database of 175,000 and has wireless RF capability when paired with the Logitech Harmony RF Extender. The remote is expected to ship in February for $500, but since the upgrade isn't groundbreaking, you may want to stick with the 1000. It can be had for under $300 online. [Logitech via Electronista]