Logitech’s Harmony division has long made some of the very best universal remotes. But their latest product turns the very best smartphones and tablets into a great universal remote. Meet Harmony Link and the Harmony Link App.

The Harmony Link hardware is a disc that’s placed near your entertainment system and provides the link between the new controller and the equipment using a local WiFi network. Tiny IR Blasters snake from the backside of the sleek disc to your cable box, TV and A/V hardware — just like every other Harmony remote. This not only facilitates communication but also allows owners to place all the unsightly hardware in a closet, enclosed cabinet, or like in my house, a basement room underneath the living room. Logitech says the Harmony Link can replace up to eight remotes.

But this hardware isn’t the fun part. Nope, the real magic comes from the iPad app.

The Harmony Link App turns the iPad into a universal remote, but one with a touch of flare. Instead of just being a touchscreen remote with the usual assortment of playback controls, the iPad app turns the chore of finding a TV program into a fun excursion. Slide through the interactive TV listings and just press Watch Now to engage the magic of Harmony Link, which will switch your TV to the appropriate station. Of course the app also features all the normal device controls and activity functions generally associated with Harmony remotes.

At launch, only the iPad will feature this interactive programming guide. The iPhone and Android app will only display activity buttons and device controls. Expect the Harmony Link in stores next month with a $99 MSRP.

Once downloaded, Harmony for Google Docs will open in a sidebar pane within Outlook. The new Harmony sidebar enables people to share a single, centralized copy of the document, eliminating the many intermediary steps associated with sending e-mail attachments back and forth. The plug-in allows users to locate, share, and work on Google documents directly from their email client.

Once logged in to your Google account, you’ll be able to drag any files (ie Microsoft Word files, PDFs) directly from an email to the Harmony sidebar to upload and convert them to Google documents. You can drag a Google document from the sidebar to create links in your e-mail messages and meeting requests to other users and viewers. Harmony automatically shares the document with the recipients. You can decide to give recipients read or write access. Recipients simply click the link in the message to open the document in their browser and don’t need to have Harmony installed to view the document.

Harmony also allows you to search document contents on Google Docs from the Harmony search box and locate documents using the View Bar, which allows you to switch between common views, such as spreadsheets, starred items, items owned by or shared with you, and more. One of the major features of Harmony is the ability to actually open and edit Google documents from directly in Outlook. All your changes are saved online and are available to your colleagues. You can organize and create folders to store Google Docs and also save Google documents in Office format. Harmony can export Google documents to Office, Open Office, PDF, RTF, HTML, TXT, and image formats.

The SharePoint plug-in isn’t nearly as sexy as as the Google Docs app but still offers a useful set of tools for enterprise users. The plug-in aims to transform Microsoft Outlook into a collaboration console, with access to documents stored on SharePoint. Similar to the Google Docs plug-in, you can drag e-mail attachments or entire e-mail messages to publish them on SharePoint. You can search the contents of documents in your current SharePoint site or library and share documents via e-mail message, calendar appointment, or task. You can edit a document from within Outlook, view document history and more.

Harmony was built using SharePoint Web Services interfaces and Google Docs open APIs and in the process has transformed Microsoft Outlook into a more collaborative application. Most importantly, the Google Docs plug-in makes the transition between web-based documents and the desktop email client seamless. It gives Microsoft users the best of both worlds, much like Docverse did with Microsoft Word documents and web-based files. If you use Microsoft Outlook and Google Docs, the plug-in seems like a no brainer to download. Plus its conveniently free. Considering the fate of Docverse, it may only be a matter of time before Microsoft and Google come sniffing around Harmony.

The $99 650 seems like it’s just like the few-months-old 700 model with a small color screen and ergonomic feel, but lacks the rechargeable batteries. The $79 600 keeps the same body but comes with a monochrome backlit screen instead. But the easy-to-set-up macros and activites buttons are still in place so they are probably fine remotes. In fact, the 650 seems like a great deal over the 700 if you consider batteries are cheap and they tend to last a long time in these remotes. Just saying.

Amazon has a pretty aggressive deal on a refurbished Logitech Harmony 890 universal remote control. It’s priced at $99.99, today only, down from just under $250 normally.

The remote controls up to 15 devices and includes both RF and infrared signals. Setup is handled via PC or Mac and the list of compatible devices is up over 175,000 currently. There’s a built-in color LCD screen and lithium-ion rechargeable battery as well. Again, this deal is good today only. The remote carries a 90-day warranty direct from Logitech.

Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Control – Refurbished [Amazon]

Ok, so the Harmony 1100 requires you to buy an RF module. It’s still a pretty cool bit of kit, and will definitely pimp out your pad if you’re looking for a remote with a screen. It’s also relatively easy to set up, and for $300? That’s a screaming deal on a high end, non-candy bar style remote. It’s available on Amazon.com, and shipping in free.

[via dealnews]

You’ve got to admit, $39.95 is a pretty good deal. The remote is refurbished, so be aware, however Logitech does warranty the remote for 90 days parts and labor, so you should be pretty safe. Plus, buying one non-refurbished will set you back about $100. You’d be buying it through Ebay, and shipping is free to the continental US. Here’s a list from Logitech of what devices are supported by the H670.

[via Dealnews]

The Harmony 700 just works. It doesn’t look as fancy as the 900, but I don’t care. What I care about in a remote is the most functionality for the lowest price. And let me tell you that this remote scores high in that area. I don’t care if I spoil the review, I just have to say that I love this remote.

The Logitech Harmony 700 is the perfect combination of form and function at the right price. It’s super comfy to hold and the buttons are firm. At first glance, the buttons seem a tad small, but I found them to work just fine. I never once wished the buttons were larger.

The screen isn’t the greatest, but it gets the job done because you really don’t use it all that much. The remote’s top buttons are dedicated to activities and if the remote is set up properly, a physical button is probably somewhere on the remote to do whatever you need it to. But just in case there isn’t, you can program anything as a soft button with the LCD screen.

The Harmony 700 is set up just like every other Harmony remote via an Internet-connect computer. A software wizard guides users through all the steps. If you know your model numbers and how everything is connected, the whole process shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

The remote is powered by two AA batteries that are – get this – recharged via microUSB. I love that! The remote comes with a charger/USB cable, but a standard cell phone charger works too. Or if the remote dies when it’s not convenient to recharge it, just throw in two AA batteries.

Recommendation:

I love this remote. That should be clear. But I don’t think you should buy it right now. No, the year-old Harmony One is $150 brand new online. That’s a better deal. It comes with a charging station, more sex appeal, and a bigger LCD screen. However, if you can’t find a deal on the One or this guy drops in price, I don’t see why you shouldn’t buy it. It’s a great remote.

Pros:

• Great ergonomics
• Firm buttons
• Rechargeable via microUSB
• Very easy to program
• Great starting MSRP of $150

Cons:

• Better options available for $150 at time of writing

Product Page

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Now that the Harmony 900 has effectively taken the top tier away from the older Harmony One, Logitech needed a suitable remote for the bottom tier. That’s where the $150 Harmony 700 comes in. From the presser, it seems that this new remote might simply be a slightly stripped down Harmony One. The look isn’t that clean, the LCD screen is smaller, and the charging system a little janky with AAs, but it’s still got what makes a Harmony special: dead simple macro setup thanks to great PC software.

The overall look is almost a combination of the One and the old 659. A row of macro buttons curve along the top and the rest of the buttons following the same layout as the One/900. That’s fine, it works. Hopefully the actual LCD screen looks as sharp as it does in the press shot too.

We should get our review sample later today, so check back for a hands-on followed by a full review. I have a feeling though that we’re going to end up recommending the Harmony One, which can be had for the same price online as the 700′s MSRP. That is, of course, Internet retailers don’t heavily discount the 700 too.

I wanted to love this remote. The Harmony One has a great form factor, and I was hoping that Logitech would add its current RF system to the mix. But that didn’t happen with the $400 Harmony 900. Instead, Logitech attempted to simplify the RF setup even though the current method is easy enough and managed to muck things up. The remote’s nice, but crippled by a lackluster RF system and therefore nowhere near the best remote I have ever used.[PSGallery=aq8580kyln]

Things I like

The Harmony One was a welcome update to Logitech’s line of universal remotes a few years ago. It feels good in the hand, the buttons are nice enough, and the charging system is bulletproof. Thankfully, the Harmony 900 has the same exact form factor and charging system. The top touchscreen is responsive and bright, although a little on the small side. The physical buttons have just enough resistance behind them and work well. The form factor is nice.

There are some differences between the One and the 900. The 900 sports a slightly different color scheme, along with themes for the top LCD screen.

Setup is easy. Logitech includes a program that installs a Web-based program that guides you through all the steps. It took me about five minutes to configure the remote. It may take a little longer for you if you don’t know model numbers, how everything is connected, and if you don’t have high-speed Internet. But if you do, it’s a breeze. I just wish Logitech would make an off-line program like Universal Remotes. I’ve had to leave a person’s house and find a hotspot to install a few remotes before.

I have to give Logitech props for making the RF system easy to configure. Now it’s done on the remote itself instead of on the PC. This means you can adjust things when you’re right next to the equipment, which is really handy if you aren’t using a laptop to install the remote.

Things I don’t like

The only reason a person would buy the Harmony 900 over the One is for the RF capabilities. This allows owners to stuff their equipment in a closest – or downstairs in my case – and control the whole system through the magic of radio frequency. I’ve used and tested five different RF remote systems over the years and never had an issue before. I have an issue with the Harmony 900, though.

Most RF systems have a range of about 100 feet depending on physical walls and wireless interference. The Harmony 900 remote has a range of about 20 feet even though the product description clearly indicates 100 feet. That means that I can use the remote just fine in the front part of my house, but not in the kitchen, which is apparently too far away from my equipment stashed in the basement, away from prying eyes and little fingers.

Part of the joy of having the AV equipment elsewhere is that you generally don’t have to worry about where you point the remote. Or you can crank the tunes in other parts of the house. RF remotes are great, but this remote fails miserably. The 20 feet range is just barely enough to reach all parts of my living room. However, if I step one foot through my kitchen door, it doesn’t work. It’s not a huge deal if you have a simple system, but if you have speakers located throughout your house or have video streaming to different rooms, this limited range is a deal breaker. Plus, everyone’s walls are different so YMMV.

But it’s just not the range I have beef with, it’s the implementation of the IR blasters. For some reason Logitech felt the need to design new IR blasters that sit on a shelf instead of sticking to the front panel of the device. This means that AV geeks that spent good money on equipment racks cannot use this remote because there probably isn’t a shelf available when the gear is flush-mounted. I can’t use the IR blasters on my office system because of the lack of shelf. Logitech didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, the mini IR blasters used by the industry for years work fine.

The new blasters use a 2.5mm jack instead of the standard 3.5mm plug, so your current IR blasters probably will not work.

I guess it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the range was limited, but the remote also displays a error message when it’s out of range which requires the user to acknowledge it. This same error message pops up when the remote is giving a ramping command like volume control or navigation. For instance, if you hold down the volume button, that same message pops up as if the remote is having trouble communicating with the RF system even if the remote is within range.

I do need to point out that this is my second Logitech Harmony 900. The first one only had a range of 5-10 feet. Logitech support was great and sent me out a second one though.

Conclusion

I love the Harmony 900, but hate the RF system. Perhaps I received two bad eggs. Idk. But I’m also thinking that a lot of the problems can be fixed with firmware updates. My recommendation would be to hold off for a while, since I have a feeling that eventually it will be the best sub-$500 remote available. I’ll update the remote in a few weeks and see if it improves the range at all.

Pros:

• Great ergonomics
• Seemingly reliable charging system
• Very easy setup

Cons:

• Crappy RF system
• Weird IR blasters

Product page

$400 @ Amazon

It seems that the 900 is simply a One upgraded with RF, which is fine by me. The remote sports the same, easy-to-hold design along with the same touchscreen. So basiclly the new 900 is kind of like if the 890 and 900 got together one lonely night, watched Ghost and turned on the slow jams. Expected the Harmony 900 later this month for $399 which includes the IR blaster and two mini blasters.

Good-Bye Clutter: Logitech Harmony 900 Remote Controls Home-Entertainment Devices, Even When They’re Out of Sight

Remote Features New Wireless RF Control, Full-Color Touch Screen; Replaces Up to 15 Remotes

FREMONT, Calif. — Aug. 11, 2009 — Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today introduced the Logitech Harmony® 900 remote. With its redesigned RF technology, full-color touch screen and intuitive button layout, the rechargeable Logitech Harmony 900 remote makes it easy to enjoy and control your TV, movies, games and music – even when your components are neatly hidden behind cabinet doors.

“Like all Harmony remotes, the Harmony 900 simplifies home entertainment, which is particularly relevant with more and more people staying home to watch movies on their big-screen TVs and enjoying surround sound and hi-def video from the comfort of the couch,” said Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s Harmony business unit. “Unfortunately, more remotes and more wires tend to be byproducts of increasingly sophisticated home-entertainment systems. With the Harmony 900 remote’s RF technology and ability to control up to 15 devices, you can say good-bye to the clutter while gaining better control of your devices.”

Simple-to-Install RF System

The Harmony 900 remote’s completely redesigned RF system makes it easy to control (up to 100 feet away) a cabinet full of devices without the hassles often associated with RF setups. Just place the included IR blaster and one or two of the mini blasters on the cabinet shelves near the devices you want to control. (Unlike other RF remotes, there’s no need to tape emitters to each of your devices.) Then use the Harmony 900 remote’s color touch screen to choose the devices you want to control with RF. Once setup is complete, you’re free to close the doors on entertainment-system clutter and point your remote anywhere you want.

Easy to Hold, Easy to Use

Based on the award-winning design of the Logitech Harmony® One remote, the Logitech Harmony 900 remote’s intuitive button layout is divided into four distinct zones (numbers; traditional DVD controls; D-pad with volume and channel up/down; and on-screen menu buttons), making it easy to find the right one quickly. Only the 44 most-essential buttons appear on the Harmony 900 remote, and each of those buttons is individually sculpted, providing useful tactile cues so you can operate the remote by touch, rather than having to rely on sight.

One Touch to Your Entertainment

As with all Logitech Harmony remotes, the newest addition to the lineup can have you watching your favorite movie or show with one press of a button. With the Harmony 900 remote, there’s no need for complicated lists and long explanations about how to use your home-entertainment system; it simplifies your entertainment with one-touch activity-based control. The whole family, your friends, and even the babysitter can simply select what they want to do by choosing the appropriate on-screen icon – such as “Watch TV” – and the Harmony 900 remote does the rest. The remote will turn on the TV, the cable box, the A/V receiver and any other necessary devices.

Guided Online Setup
Logitech’s online setup makes getting the Harmony 900 remote up and running as easy as possible. The intuitive setup wizard guides you, prompting you to enter the make and model numbers of your components. The Harmony software then programs the remote with the appropriate IR codes from Logitech’s database of more than 225,000 devices from more than 5,000 manufacturers. And with more device codes added every day, you can be confident that devices you buy tomorrow will be covered, too.

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech Harmony 900 remote is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in September for a suggested retail price of $399.99 (U.S.). The remote ships with a recharging cradle, rechargeable battery, power supply, IR blaster and two mini blasters. Logitech plans to make additional blasters and mini blasters available online in some regions.

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

There isn’t anything that impresses more than a touchscreen remote. Sure, the form factor is a little awkward at first, but damn are they sexy. When the Harmony 1000 remote debuted a few years ago, it carried an MSRP of $500. Now you can get the newer 1100 model for close to that or this one for only $147. I’d take this one.

You still get the IR and RF capability, along with a clever onscreen GUI. It can be somewhat slow at times compaired to the newer model, and some folks don’t like the form factor, but this is a deal at $147 even if it’s a refurbished model.

eCost via DealCatcher

The remote features both RF and IR signalling, a 100-foot range, control for up to 15 devices, and includes an RF wireless extender that “serves as a bridge receiver which converts RF signals to IR commands, for control without a direct line of site.” There’s also a rechargeable lithium ion battery and setup is completed using Logitech’s easy-to-use Harmony software.

The remote includes a 90-day warranty.

Logitech Harmony 890 [Amazon via FatWallet]

The Harmony 510 can control up to five different devices and connects to your computer via USB, allowing it to be automatically programmed with software from Logitech’s website.

Logitech Harmony 510 Advanced Universal Remote Control [Amazon]

The Harmony 550 supports up to 15 devices, has customizable buttons, and is programmed via the web (it’s PC and Mac compatible). The remote comes with four AAA batteries and carries a 90-day warranty.

Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote Control – Refurbished [Amazon.com]

Candybar remotes are just so boring and complicated with all of their buttons and whatnot, but large touchscreen remotes are pricey. Enter the Logitech Harmony 1100; a quasi-hybrid of the two options. Unfortunately, the melding of both doesn’t create a best of both worlds, but more like a jack of all trades and master of none.

Logitech intro’d the 1100 predecessor a few years ago and it seems the company has addressed a lot of the original’s criticism. The screen is greatly improved, the battery life is now longer, and the UI’s been tweaked a bit. However while it may look like a higher-end Creston or Control4 pad, it’s anything but. The 1100 is just a Harmony with a touchscreen — that’s not a bad thing, though. And although the price might be right, it does leave you longing for more.

This remote is solid. My kid dropped it, kicked it, and stepped on it, and it still works. Big marks in my book. The bottom is contoured for two handed operation, but it’s light enough to hold with one just fine. It would be nice to have a hard shell over the LCD touchscreen but it has held up to my son’s abuse just fine.

It only took me 25 minutes to set up the remote. Granted, I have streamlined my A/V setup to just a receiver, a TiVo, and a Blu-ray player but even with more devices, it wouldn’t taken that much more time. The Logitech software is polished and well designed allowing for easy setup as long as you know how your equipment is hooked up. Thankfully, I have reconfigured my equipment enough that I know which device is connect to what input.

The Harmony software is what originally made these remotes special. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require a geek to install the remote. All you need is the model number of the A/V devices and how each piece of equipment is hooked up. A high-speed connection isn’t required, but it helps.

Once everything is configured, it’s easy enough to go back and change things around. If you get stuck, I have found the Logitech phone support to be very helpful. You get a 90 day phone support warranty with the purchase.

Harmony remotes set the bar for macros years ago and this remote maintains that pedigree. The whole remote revolves around the Activities buttons which switch devices and set-top boxes onto the correct modes. Click the ‘Watch TV’ on-screen soft button, and voila, it turns the TV, receiver and DVR to the correct mode automagicly. It’s great.

However, the small touchscreen doesn’t allow for all the activities functions to be on the screen at one time. The four corners of the screen acts as shortcuts to different main pages such as channel number input, DVR control, channel shortcuts and favorites. I found the setup to be kind of a pain, but as long as I remembered to switch back to the DVR controls, it worked fine. It would be great to have a default screen that the remote reverts back to after a set period of inactivity though.

I understand this remote is only $500 which is entry-level in the world of touchscreen remotes, but the sluggish operation suggests the price should be lower. The screens transitions are janky and look horrible on the remote. I expected a smoother operation.

Overall, the remote is a pleasant departure from candy bar land. I still don’t know if I prefer this type of setup verses a remote with dedicated buttons. Maybe if the remote was 100% touchscreen with enough screen real estate for all the functions to reside on one screen, but that would also place the remote in a much higher price bracket.

It’s kind of like the iPhone vs BlackBerry argument. The touchscreen allows for a more flashy interface that can be changed an infinite amount of ways, but dedicated buttons allow for easier operation by touch alone. If you prefer the latter, which I think I do, opt for the Harmony One or Philips Pronto.

The Harmony 1100 carries a $500 MSRP but can be found for less online. The remote is solid, works well, and will impress the hell out of your house guests. I wish Logitech would have bundled the RF module with the remote to fully take advantage of the remote’s operation, but instead they charge $100 more. I still can’t decide if I dig the remote vs the Harmony One or my old Monster Control 300, but it’s growing on me.

Pros:
Solid feel
Very easy to setup
Great recharging dock
Good looking screen
Sexy

Cons:
Doesn’t come with RF module
Screen animation jerky
Price

[PSGallery=48wanes710a]

Logitech went official with the Harmony 1100 just a few weeks ago and already it’s available for purchase. Newegg has the touchscreen universal remote for the low, low price of $499 with free shipping. In order to take advantage of the killer RF capabilities, you’ll have to spend an extra $99 on the RF Extender though. But that money is well spent as with the RF mode and a few extra long cables, all the AV equipment can be hidden away and controlled with this macro-powered universal remote.

This may be the the plain jane Logitech Harmony, but it’s still a killer remote solution for those plagued with multiple remotes. Everything is consolidated into one unit that’s easy to program thanks to the online setup. It’s a basic model but totally worth $50.

The music is a little bit precious but this Electro-Harmonix Voice Box thing is amazing as a music tool. The box follows along to background music and works in harmony or vocoder mode.

One thing that you’ll notice is that in a few iterations of the market instinct, you’ll probably hear more and more bands using these tools. Even in my limited musical experience, I’ve noticed “tricks” that have shown up in hardware or software form ending up in popular music a few weeks after they are launched commercially. It’s like an arms race in which everyone is really emo about fighting.

The harmony processor creates 2- to 4-part harmonies directly from your vocals, in the same key as your accompanying instrument. Studio-quality reverb lets you independently add depth to your dry and harmony vocals.

The focused 256-band articulate vocoder, designed by the same EMS genius who made vocoding famous, features adjustable harmonic enhancement and controllable formant shift.

* Harmonically matches any electric instrument you plug into it
* Professional quality pitch shifting algorithm produces realistic harmonies
* The Low & High Harmony independently produces two harmony notes: 3rd and 5th
* 9 accessible programmable presets
* Natural Glissando
* Gender Bender knob allows for male/female formant modification
* Built-In Mic Pre with Phantom Power & Gain Switch
* Balanced XLR Line Output: Interface directly with any mixing board or A/D converter
* US96DC-200BI power supply included

The box is available now but I think it’s special order.

via Make

We were treated to some upcoming Motorola phones 24 hours ago and now we have three more. Also like yesterday, details like price, release date, and OS are absent, but at least we have some great pics. The Niagra, pictured above, has some RAZR juice running through its circuit. The other two phones, Calgary and Harmony, are destined to become “free phones.” (pics after the jump) That Niagra though; hot.