Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360

Pros: easy to program, looks beautiful, flawless harmony functioning you'd expect from logitech

Cons: terrible ergonomics (something you'd never expect from logitech)

Summary: i've been wanting a harmony remote for the last few months and once i saw that logitech made one for the 360, i snatched it up without hesitation. it really is as easy to set up as it's supposed to be and it worked all of my components flawlessly. ultimately, i was dissatisfied and returned it after a week of use, simply because i could not get used to the feel of the remote.

for something made by logitech, the ergonomics of the device are terrible. don't get me wrong - it works great and looks beautiful. it's just that the remote does not feel right in my hand and it's difficult to navigate by feel alone, as i constantly needed to look down at the remote to visually locate the correct buttons. it just wasn't as intuitive to use as previous remotes i've owned have been. you may notice from angled/profile views of the remote that it's razor thin near the top of the remote, and thicker towards the bottom. i feel that this design causes the remote to feel unbalanced in a user's hand, depending on which navigation buttons are being used. not only does it feel unbalanced to hold, but the weight and design of the device does not even allow it to lay down horizontally when placed on a table; rather, it rests at a slight diagonal from top to bottom. its thinness is nice (even at it's thickest point, near the base, it's still quite thin), but i think that consistency from top to bottom would have been a better design choice.

my biggest complaint with the remote lies with the channel up/down and volume up/down buttons, which unfortunately are the buttons everyday users will tend to use most frequently. while most of the buttons on the remote have a soft, easy to press feel to them, the main controls (the dvd navigational arrows, ok button, glow button, and volume and channel controls) are made of a stiff material that must be pressed in quite hard to the point of a noticeable "click". while i actually preferred this "click" with the glow button, the dvd navigation buttons felt awkward to use and the volume and channel controls (which are barely raised above the surface of the remote) were frustratingly unnatural to manipulate. it was not instinctive for me to simply hold the remote with one hand and raise or lower the volume with a few gentle presses, but rather it felt necessary for me to hold the remote balanced with one hand while using a fingernail or fingertip from the other hand to precisely press the button all the way down for that "click".

i really, really wanted to keep this remote for its stylish looks and wonderful harmony functioning. however, after much debate, i decided i just couldn't hold onto it due to the frustration it caused me every time i tried to change a channel or raise or lower the volume.

overall, with the advanced universal remote for the xbox 360, logitech has developed a product that succeeds with flying colors on its functionality, but ultimately fails in its design. this is a surprising failure coming from a company like logitech. i'm debating trying out the harmony 880. hopefully, i'll find the 880 more ergonomically satisfying.