Logitech Harmony Touch

Pros: The size of the Harmony Touch is convenient and comfortable.

Most of my settings were successfully imported from one of my Harmony One settings.

Having a dedicated button for the DVR and for the four colored buttons is a great addition.

Cons: Having to scroll through activities is annoying.

Lack of the "skip forward" and "skip backward" buttons is an inconvenience.

The location of the DVR controls makes using the Harmony Touch awkward.

"Favorite channels" is a needless complication.

Summary: I received a Harmony Touch from Logitech because I own several Harmony One remotes and have recommended them highly. I was looking forward to the Harmony Touch, and I wanted to recommend it just as highly, but unfortunately, I can't. Here are some good things and bad things:

Good things:

1) The removal of the number buttons to make the Harmony Touch a more convenient size was a good move. The on-screen numbers are easy to find, when they are needed.

2) Overall, the size of the Harmony Touch is convenient and comfortable.

3) Most of my settings were successfully imported from one of my Harmony One settings, so that saved me some time during set-up.

4) Having a dedicated button for the DVR and for the four colored buttons is a great addition.

Bad things:

1) Unfortunately, there are quite a few things that make the Harmony Touch a bad fit for my living room experience. First, using the whole screen to show just one activity at a time is just stupid, and having to swipe left and right to scroll through the other activities one by one is a significant step backward in terms of usability. I found that extremely annoying. Showing the activities in a list on one, or at most two, screens, as the Harmony One does, provides a far superior user experience.

2) Relocating the "skip forward" and "skip backward" buttons from the remote and putting them on the screen is a huge inconvenience. It baffles me that anyone at Logitech thought that was a good idea. This by itself would be enough for me to eschew the Harmony Touch and stick with the Harmony One.

3) The location of the DVR controls (play, stop, fast forward, rewind) to above the screen makes using the Harmony Touch more awkward than using the Harmony One, even though the Harmony One is significantly larger. Using the DVR controls on the Harmony One can be done one-handed. On the Harmony Touch, it requires awkwardly shifting the position of the hand, or using two hands. Another significant step backward in usability.

4) The addition of "favorite channels" is a needless complication. Every DVR has favorite channel lists built in.

Conclusion: in a world where the Harmony One had never been invented, the Harmony Touch would be a terrific addition to any living room. However, the Harmony One does exist, and has existed for years. That being the case, there is really no excuse for the flaws in the design of the Harmony Touch.

Suggestions for the Harmony Two, or the Harmony Touch Plus, or whatever the next version will be called:

1) Put the most commonly used buttons, including the DVR controls, below the screen, where the user can reach them with one hand. Move the less commonly used buttons (DVR, Guide, Info, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue) above the screen.

2) Have physical buttons for "skip forward" and "skip backward", located beneath the "fast forward" and "rewind" buttons, as the Harmony One currently does.

3) Do not waste the whole screen on one activity label and make users scroll/swipe through screen after screen looking for activities. (Come on, Logitech, that's just stupid.) List them on-screen in a list.

4) Use dedicated buttons or touch areas for "Activities" and "Devices", as the Harmony One currently does (or something similar). Don't play hide-and-seek with two of the most basic functions on the remote.