New Product: Logitech Harmony 700 & 900 universal remotes

The Harmony 900 has recently hit the market for $399.99 and the Harmony 700 is currently available for pre-order and will retail for $149.99. Logitech has been releasing Harmony remotes since mid 2004 when it acquired the brand for $29 million. These two new remotes are the successors to very popular Harmony One that hit the market in January '08 for $249.99.

So what's the difference between these models? The new Harmony 900 is essentially the true successor to the Harmony One since they both feature a touch screen, but the 900 also features RF control. RF control allows you to control your entertainment setup from up to 100feet away without needing to maintain 'line of sight' like traditional IR remotes. The 900 comes with a device that receives the RF signal and then 'blasts' out the IR signals to your devices wirelessly. Meanwhile, the Harmony 700 has most the features the previous Harmony One had with the exception of a touch screen.

All 3 of these remotes have a recharge station so no need for batteries either. One device these remotes had difficulty fully controlling in the past was the PS3 since it uses Bluetooth instead of RF or IR. Logitech has a solution for this via the Harmony Adapter for Playstation 3 which retails for $59.99. All in all I love this line of new remotes from Logitech. Check out the CNET review of the Harmony 900 for further information.