Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable

Logitech Harmony 700 One touch changes everything—with charged and prepared control
Get set to change your TV, movie and music time. With one click activity buttons, easy recharging, and common control of up to six devices, your entertainment is just one touch away.  Download a specification sheet Harmony 700
Noteworthy Features •  Rechargeable—go up to a week on a single charge •  Brightly lit color screen displays commands and favorite TV channels •  One click activity buttons setup your entertainment devices •  Works with 5000+ brands and 225,000+ devices

163 of 173 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of five stars Missing a couple of nicities that you may be used to…880 may be a better call, September 9, 2009
By Bhavesh K. Patel (Chicago, IL) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable Remote with Color Screen (Electronics) Hi, I had tried this remote but has been disappointed by a couple of things. Do not get me wrong, like all Harmony’s, this remote is in general great and is well worth the money if you want a great common remote. In comparison to many of the others, but, it is a little disappointing. For reference, I own a Harmony One, and 880, and used Harmony for six or seven years, back when the 1st remote ever came out.

If you are looking at Harmony remotes, you already know how great they’re and you’ll know if this will do the job. I will just talk about what I do not like about this remote, and why I could go for the 880 instead:

1) This remote has a flimsy feel to it. The buttons are squishy and have many “play” in it..they do not just press down they move a little in many other direction while being pressed. It is a little subtle, but obvious in comparison to the other remotes. It somewhat has the feel of one of the rubberized button cheap remotes that come with the AV equipment you may purchase. In general the remote just feels light and plasticky and I just do not get the feeling that it could handle normal drops and wear and tear that well. Clearly, I did not test the durability. Again, I could just note that in contrast to every other Harmony I have owned, the build quality on this isn’t that great. It is not bad, just not what I have come to expect. It doesn’t have the same premium feel to it.

2) No cradle. Certainly disappointing that there’s no cradle for this remote. The charging is through the supplied USB cable and a wall dongle. Just, it takes two hands to plug this remote in. But think about it from the perspective of where you could keep this remote. Do you want to have a single USB cable dangling around, free to slip off the endtable when you are not charging it. It looks like a ache to fish for the USB cable and plug it in. This is in contrast to dropping it into a nice custom cradle that the other remotes just “slip” into. A word on the wall charger part of it.Cheapo. It comes in two pieces (the plug and the transformer), but the fit and finish is just bad. It really feels like it was made with minimal effort in design.It reminds one of purchasing a really cheap part of electronic gear by many off brand that nobody has ever heard of and is only sold in Korea or China, with one of those cheap boxes with bad faded photography and Asian letters reporting all the features and you know it is just not going to work. I know, I digress, but when you purchase a . Remote, you really do not want to be reminded that they cut a corner here. (for reference, I own other Logitech devices that do not have cradles, but at least the power supply is decent, like the DiNovo Mini Keyboard).

3) Only four screen buttons. When it comes to extending this remote, the screen only supports four buttons. At 1st, I has been excited that it really had easy to access buttons beside the screen. The Harmony one has Touch Screen buttons, which I personally find hard to use. In the black, you can not just go on feel with the One. The One supports six possible buttons. The 880 supports eight buttons on the screen, via hard buttons beside each item. While the buttons are hard, they may be a little hard to find in the black without practice. But it is doable. I hoped the 700 could be the best of both worlds. In reality, it most likely is, particularly if it supported six functions instead of only 4. But at four buttons, it is a reasonable sacrifice if the rest of the remote was remaining. One benefit of this remote is the four colored buttons that match to many of the DVR and Satellite boxes out there, also as game systems, etc. So in a way, you do not need as many Screen buttons. Still, this remote could have been better with six buttons and could have made it feel like you were purchasing a premium Harmony remote. Here, it just feels intentionally crippled.

4) This is some a minor gripe..but, after to get the less than premium/cheapo feel on this remote, the batteries continue the cheap feel. It comes with AA sized rechargeable batteries. They’re NiMH. Now, if I got a remote in 1997 that sported AA batteries that charged inside the remote, I could be telling everyone how awesome this was. But these days, we are all used to those thin little Li Ion batteries that come in every other rechargeable gadget like cameras, gameboys, etc.

So in general, again, this remote is still a great Harmony remote and will blow away most of the other remotes out there. They are all comparatively minor points of differentiation for the discerning user. I could think about your function and how frequently you will be using, and how many devices you’ll control.

In fact, I could agree with the 1st poster on this point: it is a great second remote for restricted applications. It is perfect for a bedroom, or a small, simple setup. I do not think this competes at all with the One or the 880. With the 880 at only $10 more on now, I think it’s the better purchase. Personally, I find many of the buttons more user friendly on the 880 than on the One/700. And of course, there are many buttons on the One that are better than the 880. The layout of the 700 may have been awesome, but the remote is restricted by the fact that it’s intended to be a crippled, entry level remote compared to the higher class models.

So I could think hard about the 880 (I wish the screen on the 880 was prettier..) if you are looking at this.

Finally, I really hope Logitech is not ruining the Harmony brand here. I hope they aren’t planning on continuing to make a cheaper feeling product across all the models. The new 900 seemingly is weaker than last remotes in that it doesn’t support “sequences”. I know majority of people hoped that it could be a One with RF. But it sounds like you must give something back to the get the RF. I hope Logitech remembers that there are lots of “power users” out there who want a great remote and are wanting to pay for it.

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64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Perfect For My Bedroom!, September 4, 2009
By Matt J. Rose “Blu Aficionado” (De Pere, WI USA) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable Remote with Color Screen (Electronics) I am a big fan of my Harmony One, and use it to control my complete living room.From lights, TV, computer, ps3, a/v receiver, xbox 360, blu ray player, the air conditioner!

After a year or so of perfect operation, I decided Logitech was the way to go for common remotes.And decided to look into something for my bedroom. I Tried the 550 and 880 but they just did not feel comfy in my hand, and the hard buttons (namely the ones up the side of the screen) were just to hard to press or find in black situations.

I was just about to purchase another One for my bedroom (which could be total overkill) when I saw the 700 series, with a $30 dollar price difference. I picked one up and brought it home.

Setup:

The setup is just the same as all Harmony remotes, internet established, and simple! I wrote down the model numbers for my parts and started the setup. I breezed through this because I am used to using the interface, but for beginners its quite easy and user friendly.

For this setup I goed to be controlling A 46″ Sony Bravia, PS3 thin (with Logitech’s ps3 BT adapter) a tower fan, and a IR light switch.

Everything worked perfectly, and the new hard keys over the remote are perfect for picking your activity.

The remote will include an interior rechargeable battery, and a charging cable for your wall (AC Power). I have not gotten to test the battery life, and the only thing I can say I miss from my H1 is the charging base, though not a deal breaker it was nice to keep track of your remote.

This is an all around excellent remote, with great features and fast setup (be sure to write those model numbers down) Anybody who’s sick of struggling with many remotes should give a Harmony 700 a try!

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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Lots of pros and cons but still a great device, October 18, 2009
By Noname See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (TOP 50 REVIEWER) This review is from: Logitech Harmony 700 Rechargeable Remote with Color Screen (Electronics)
Buyer review from the Vine™ Program () I have heard so many great things about the Harmony line of remotes. I couldn’t wait to attempt this one out.

OUT OF THE BOX

In the box came a remote with a USB cord and a charger with partially charged rechargeable batteries.

The remote is sleek and stylish. It’s weighted towards the bottom, but my hand wants to be in the center to control the buttons up top, so there were balance issues, but no big deal.

I have lots of rechargeable NiMh batteries, so I put a pair of completely charged hybrid batteries in. That way, I would not have to plug in my remote soon. It now flashed information on the little tiny screen about how to set it up, as well as when to connect to a computer and what web site to visit.

SETUP

Setup was easy but more time consuming than I projected from all the buzz. I’m not that familiar with the Harmony remotes, but I thought easy setup was its allure. So when the information said to allot 45 minutes for setting up, I has been surprised. And keep in mind you will need a computer with an internet connection. For the technologically challenged, this may be a problem.

Most of my time was spent pulling the AV units out of the cupboards and looking for a model number. I also had to run up and downstairs to answer setup questions about how the remote functionings are set up on my TV. Once, when I didn’t know the answer to a question of how my old remote is set up, the Harmony “learned” from my old remote by having me place my old remote behind it.

The availability of channel icons is pretty restricted. I couldn’t find most of the ones I wanted and had to either go without or find them on the internet, download them, unzip them and install them.

Once I was done, I got to experience the beauty of the remote.

PERFORMANCE

Once it is set up, it is easy to use. My eight year old figured it out now. My husband, who’s not technologically savvy, figured it out.

The favorites show up on screen once I press the “watch TV” button. If you have a challenged family member, put their favorites right there and s/he can just press the button beside his/her favorite channel.

I press a button and all the correct equipment turns on or off. Want to watch TV? The satellite receiver and TV turn on but the DVD player and VCR stays off. Want to watch a movie on DVD? Press the button and the DVD player, TV and satellite receiver (I have that set to generally be on but it may be set to automatically be off) are on but the VCR stays off.

The biggest drawback with the operation I see is a light delay when I press the commands. Press the “watch TV” button and I have to wait a second. Press the Disney channel and I have to wait a second. It is not a long wait, but it’s obvious.

PROS:
+ a true all in one remote
+ Harmony remote can “learn” from other remotes
+ easy to use and learn
+ one touch on/off operation at the same time turn everything you need on and off now (things you do not need on will stay off)
+ set up information flash on screen when batteries installed will include which web site to visit
+ sleeps when put down, wakes up when picked up
+ favorite channels show on remote screen when watching TV for fast access
+ comes with batteries

CONS:
Let 45 minutes to set up
Included icon selection is restricted must download your own
Must plug in to recharge no cradle, and no memory if batteries removed
Need an internet connection for setup
Weighted towards the bottom but my hands wants to be near the top causes balance issues
Slight delay between pressing a command button and seeing the action desired

SUMMARY

Overall a great device, certainly a step above the all in one remotes requiring code entry. Love the customizability of the favorites channels and the capability to add icons. Wish I did not have to go hunting the internet for those icons and could like a cradle for my next Harmony. I do plan on upgrading one day.

UPDATE: I did find a way to fix the delay issue in the online manual (that is another drawback, no printed manual), but I have not gotten around to fixing it, still. If it is a problem to fix, I’ll update.

UPDATE: Before writing the initial review, I did take out the batteries to see what could happen with the remote. When I put them back in, the remote could not turn the TV or any other device on, so I had to go back to the computer to get my settings back hence the comment about no memory.

I have since been told there’s a memory, so I went back to attempt again. This time, I did get the settings back, but it wasn’t perfect. Many things changed, little things, like the remote helper is on when I turn on the TV. I had it set to off.

Thank you, Logitech, for helping me. At least I know there’s a memory.

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