Review: Logitech Harmony 890 Universal Remote

Nov. 9, 2007 — -- If you're buying a gift for the high-powered executive who has everything, what are you to do? Well, give them more control, of course.

The Logitech Harmony 890 Universal Remote made its way to my tiny Manhattan apartment a few weeks ago and, even though I don't spend my days anywhere near a corner office, the handy little device found its place atop the pile of channel pickers in my living room.

The $350 remote promises a lot: control of up to 15 devices, a 100-foot range with no "line-of-sight" needed, fewer button clicks thanks to a focus on entertainment "activities" and compatibility with pretty much anything that has an infra-red receiver. Oh, and it's got a cool color display and rechargeable battery.

Set-up was easy. I opened the box, plugged in the charging base, installed the included configuration software on my computer and connected the remote via an available USB port.

After an hour of charging the battery and 20 minutes of clicking through the step-by-step set-up software the Harmony 890 was ready for use in my living room and bedroom.

It knew I had an old Sony set, HD cable box from Time Warner and an RCA VHS/DVD recorder in front of the couch.

I clicked the power-on button and got a list of options: Watch the DVR, Play a DVD, Record a Show. Selecting the desired activity, things just happened. The TV turned on. The cable box snapped to attention. Choosing "Play a DVD" switched the set to the appropriate input for my DVD player and turned the device on.

I was even able to take the Harmony remote into the bedroom where I have a Microsoft Media Center PC set up for watching TV, DVDs and surfing the Internet. A few button clicks and the remote knew it had moved to the other room and which devices it needed to command.

At one point, my living room cable box had been left on overnight. When I told the Harmony I wanted to watch the DVR, my television turned on and the cable box turned off. The built-in "help" feature offered a few quick on-screen questions that corrected the problem in just a few seconds. That kind of misstep might have thrown a casual user for a loop and resulted in a call to an absent spouse or tech support.

There are certainly other configurable universal remotes that do the same thing that Logitech's device does at lower prices. But the design and smarts built into the Harmony remote I tested justify the investment.

If you'd like to check it out for yourself but want to do it on a budget, Logitech offers lower-priced models in the Harmony line with similar features. The Harmony 670 has a suggested price of $150, but lacks the color display, rechargeable battery and the ability to control lights and home appliances.