Hasta La Gadget!

The folks over at Logitech has done it again, announcing yet another keyboard for those who want to improve their workflow efficiency process. The Logitech Harmony Smart Keyboard would be able to delivers the power of Harmony universal remotes, albeit coming in a keyboard form factor, where it will also be accompanied by a touchpad to boot, making it a specially designed peripheral for couch potatoes who spend more time in the living room compared to any other room in the home.

After all, more and more folks have moved on to streaming content in the living room, regardless of whether it is from their computer, streaming-media device like the Apple TV, Roku or game console like the Xbox One and Sony PS3. These devices tend to deliver unlimited entertainment options, but their corresponding remote controls do have an issue when it comes to text entry that is more often than not compulsory when it comes to performing a search for selections.

With the Logitech Harmony Smart Keyboard, searching for programs become fast and easy, where its integrated touchpad would make navigating through convoluted menu systems a cinch, not to mention making it a most natural manner of surfing the Web, as though one were sitting in front of the PC itself.

This particular keyboard will integrate buttons like “Guide,” “Pause,” “Play,” and Channel up or Down, in addition to game console navigation buttons. Apart from that, it will also feature the Harmony Hub, which will transform signals from the keyboard or your smartphone via the Harmony App into commands that your entertainment devices are able to figure out. This makes it play nice with over 225,000 home-entertainment devices and more than 5,000 brands – and counting. Hence, once you have the Logitech Harmony Smart Keyboard within vicinity of the living room, there should not be any more need for extra remotes.

Press Release
[ Logitech Harmony Smart Keyboard announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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To date, home theater mavens who’ve wanted Logitech’s Harmony Ultimate Hub have had to buy it as part of a Harmony Ultimate or Harmony Smart Control bundle — neither kit being a bargain for viewers with existing gear. They’ll have a better option soon, as Logitech now expects to ship its promised stand-alone version of the Ultimate Hub to Europe and the US in August. Those who shell out $100 will have the same IR, RF and WiFi support as the bundled hub, just without the redundant hardware. They can even rely solely on Logitech’s free Android or iOS apps for input, should a dedicated remote seem archaic. The Ultimate Hub may be well-timed: when alternative remote control bridges are fading away, Logitech may snag some of those customers looking for a replacement.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD, Mobile

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Via: Blog.Logitech

Source: Logitech

I’ve had a Harmony 800 remote control since long before Logitech acquired them several years back. It’s a great device, thanks to its easy web-based programming, massive device library, and activity-based commands. But the interface and product design has always felt a little dated to me. Logitech hopes to change things up a bit with their latest remote, the Harmony Touch.

This new remote has a 2.4″ capacitive touchscreen interface that’s reminiscent of the one you might find on your smartphone, complete with thumb-sized icons. The cool thing is that you use simple swipe gestures to move between activity screens and to scroll through your list of channels. It will also support swipe gestures for things like fast-forward and rewind of video content.

Sure, there’s already a Logitech Harmony app and Link device for the iPhone and iPad, it’s really hard to use a remote without some physical buttons. I much prefer the design of a remote with hard buttons – especially for navigating menus and changing volume in the dark. The Harmony Touch has ample tactile inputs, including dedicated playback, volume, channel and D-pad controls among others. As with other Harmony remotes, the Harmony Touch includes a rechargeable battery and a docking station included.

All told, the Harmony Touch can control up to 15 individual devices out of a library of over 225,000. I’m not sure if it can learn from other devices, but based on past Harmony remotes, I’d guess it can. That said, it only appears to support IR devices and not RF.

The Harmony Touch will be released this month for $249(USD). That’s a bit more expensive than I was hoping – I really wanted this thing to be $149 to $199 – but it still looks like a worthwhile upgrade for old Harmony remotes. Some have but apparently some have already popped up at Best Buy, so they’re already in the supply chain. For now, keep your eye out on the Logitech Harmony website for more details, or pop by your local Best Buy to see if any are out on the shelf.

The cat is already well out of the bag, but we finally have some official information about the new Logitech Harmony Touch universal remote. Its first addition to the line in a while, Logitech is pushing its center-mounted 2.4-inch color touchscreen with support for control by tapping, swiping or scrolling through up to 50 channel icons as a way to “unprecedented control” of your home entertainment system. We’re still not entirely sure about the transport controls being placed so far up top or the usefulness of a screen focused on direct live channel access in the DVR and streaming age (check out our thoughts on this week’s podcast), but it does bring the usual control of up to 15 devices and backlit keys. Just as we saw in the stores, the price is set at $249 and it controls only via IR, not RF like the pricier Harmony 900. Check out more info in the press release after the break (along with quick demo and how-to setup videos) or on Logitech’s blog, fans of the new device should be able to find them released widely in the US and Europe this month.

Continue reading Logitech Harmony Touch remote officially announced, brings swipe, scroll and tap LCD for $249

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Logitech Harmony Touch remote officially announced, brings swipe, scroll and tap LCD for $249 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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