Review: Logitech Harmony One

We’ve seen several remotes from Logitech’s Harmony range in the past – most recently the Harmony 1000.

The Harmony One is bigger than most at 225mm long. The remote consists of a small 2.2in colour touchscreen display along with an array of buttons similar to those found on TV and DVD remotes. Logitech has done an excellent job with the physical design of the Harmony One – it fits comfortably in your hand and the buttons are sensibly placed.

Unlike most universal remotes that require you to enter codes manually to operate your devices, the Harmony One uses a web-based system to download controls from a database containing more than 225,000 devices – new models are added regularly. You can also define activities – ‘listen to digital radio’ would turn on your set-top box, switch your amplifier to the appropriate audio input and turn off your TV.

While the buttons on the remote look after most standard AV functions, the touchscreen provides access to functions specific to the device you’re currently controlling, such as changing the aspect ratio on a TV or switching inputs on an amplifier. However, only six buttons fit on this screen at a time, which means you’ll frequently be cycling through pages to find the one you’re after.

Furthermore, unlike physical buttons that can be navigated blind, you’ll need to keep glancing down at the display to find specific controls. If you’ve only a couple of devices, you’re unlikely to want to spend this much on a universal remote, but if your lounge is littered with audio and visual gadgetry the Harmony One could help you out.