Father’s Day: Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote

As I mentioned a few days ago, I love Father’s Day gifts that I’ll appreciate too (what – is that wrong?) and it’s a win-win with the Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote.

He gets: a fun new gadget to program, play with (hello touchscreen!) and impress his friends with and one less thing to lose

You get: a coffee table free of Mt. Remotes and a one-step process for explaining to the sitter how to turn the TV on

I swore we’d never be one of those people with remotes littering the couch, but over the years we moved up from 1 to 2 to now 6 different remotes to control different media devices. And if the clutter weren’t bad enough, good luck trying to find all three at the same time that you need to turn on a DVD. Logitech to the rescue! With their Harmony collection of universal remotes, you can find the perfect one to match your price range and media requirements and finally bring harmony to your living room.

Here’s an overview of the features of the Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote:

– Control up to 15 devices. Imagine a pile of 15 remotes, even 8 remotes! Some of you may even have a special basket or drawer JUST FOR REMOTES.  No more! The Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote does it all.

– One-Touch Activity Control. Love this feature. It means I don’t need to write down a 12-step process for my babysitter or in-laws on how to work the DVD player or turn on the music. The remote has activity choices like “Watch TV” or “Play a DVD” that automatically turn on all required devices to the correct setting with the press of ONE BUTTON. Love it.

– Rechargeable. So many things eat batteries in our house, I’m glad that the Harmony One remote won’t be one of them. The rechargeable base saves you cash and with a designated place to put the remote for charging, it makes it a little more likely you’ll be able to find it when you need it.

– Easy set-up. Logitech makes set-up simple. Load the installation CD and attach the remote to your computer with the included USB cable. The software guides you through adding your specific devices and choosing how you want to control them (e.g. control the sound through your stereo system, not through your TV). Logitech remotes have support for 5000+ brands and 255,000+ devices, but just to make sure, it’s good to double check the compatibility of your devices here.

The Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote retails for $249.99 but you can take a step down the price ladder and pick up the Harmony 650 for a sale price of $79.99 (controls up to 5 devices, no touch screen) or move a step up and try the Harmony 900 which use radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) technology. The benefit of adding in RF? It will work through cabinets which means you can control all your media equipment while keeping them hidden from view.

Pick one up for Father’s Day today!

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Disclaimer: Logitech provided a sample for this review.