Logitech 600 and 650 remotes bring Harmony for under $100
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 2nd 2010 8:24AM
posted March 2nd 2010 8:24AM
posted March 2nd 2010 8:24AM
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No PS3 support without an adapter? Pass.
@Level 5 Not everyone owns a PS3.
@Khris
Yes I know that, sport. But a fairly large chunk of those of us who DO own PS3's also use them as our primary BD/DVD/File player. Wikipedia states that 9 million PS3's have been sold. That's potentially a very substantial audience for a Bluetooth compatible Harmony Remote. A Bluetooth chip would only bump the cost up by like $5. I'd say it'd be worth it for PS3's and HTPC's.
@Khris
Obviously this guy does, hence his comment.
@Level 5
Which is why Logitech sell a IR-to-Bluetooth adapter.
I guess the idea is that if somebody wants the Bluetooth capability, they'll be able to afford to pay for it; rather than making everybody that doesn't need Bluetooth help subsidize what would be your cost since the price of each remote would have to go up.
But then again, Logitech should obviously cater to you specifically. (sarcasm aside, it would be cool if you could order a custom Harmony remote, e.g. I could go to logitech.com and order a 720 with Bluetooth and RF built in)
@Level 5
I am certain that adding bluetooth features to this remote would bump this up more than $5.
Not to mention this is clearly logitech's attempts at providing a low cost entry level remote in the market. I would expect such functionality to be added to higher end remotes first.
Still waiting for a Harmony that controls my PS3 WITHOUT using the adapter. Is it impossible to create a remote which uses both IR and BT?
@NHAnimator
I've been asking that same question for four years now.. I'm not buying shit from logitech until they can produce a remote that'll control ALL my A/V equipment.. including a PS3.
seriously tho.. how hard is it to make an RF/IR remote with Bluetooth in it!? it's like we're still in the gd stone age putting out remotes that rely soley on line-of-sight IR to control.
@Jyncus I paid more for the bluetooth adapter than for my harmony remote. I got my 550 on sale for $50, but paid $60 for the freakin adapter. I don't think they'll be incorporating it in the remote anytime soon, because they're the ones that make the bluetooth adapter and prolly make like a $20 profit on each one sold.
@Jyncus
Who DOES produce a remote that controls ALL your A/V equipment IR/RF/BT ? I don't understand your logic for not buying from Logitech. As far are I know, they are the only company that actually can control your IR/RF/BT devices with a single remote - but only if you buy the add-ons. That means those of us who don't need the extra features don't have to pay for them, and those of you who do need them can choose to pay extra. Seems like a reasonable marketing strategy.
@NHAnimator Here's a better question: Why not just use the adapter? Why the obsession with BT built in?
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
What is a prolly?
I got my 550 for $80 on sale and it will control 15 devices. The only negative is that the numbers rub off.
@Sweet Dude
On the other hand, you've got a GREAT HAIRCUT
LOL at the last sentence.
I just bought the 700 a few days ago....damn it.
I love Harmony remotes. Bought a Harmony One 2 years ago, and I will take that thing to my grave with me.
@Tidal I've got the Harmony 720 and love it! If/When it ever breaks, I'll be rushing out to buy a replacement faster than Hillary Duff went down on Comrie after getting engaged!
@Tidal
Have to agree, liked my Harmony One so much I now have another for the bedroom!
@Tidal
And like you it will be dead. The buttons start sticking eventually.
@Tidal I've been a Harmony user for a long time (659, 880, One) and the One is probably the worst I've used.
Glad you like it, but I wish my 659 hadn't died after 3 years. (The 880 died after 1 year, and the One is still working after a year, but has a bunch of other issues, including poor IR strength, poor IR learning, and the dumb idea of having a touchscreen in the first place).
Definitely needs more buttons.
Does it support Windows Media Center?
@Ash77
All the logitech harmony remotes support windows media center
This universal remote control, will it control my universe?
@aeth Only if it contains a maximum of five devices.
@aeth
I can guarantee it will controll any universe you own.
@Monstermunch
Thanks. Ama get me one o' those. *drool*
Still Fu fu fu fu fu fu fugly.
@MacIdol
It's a universal remote. Not a contestant in a beauty contest. I don't care what it looks like as long as it does what I want it to.
Speaking of... I may upgrade my 550 for the living room when I get my new TV and pass that on to the bedroom.
I love my 520, though the build quality is a little crappy. You get what you pay for, I suppose.
@Apocalyptic 0n3 I have the 525 and the build quality on that is crappy too. If you twist it ever so slightly then you can hear the whole thing creak.
Great product though apart from that.
@Silver Yeah, that is the exact same problem mine has. It creaks with every single movement. Just pressing numbers on the keypad will cause to creak. But, like you said, it's a great remote. Never had one like it. I got it as an entry level type deal and I will surely buy a more expensive model when it comes time to replace it.
Why on Earth will i need a remote with 54 buttons when there is only 2X keys on my phone?
Finally a replacement for my 880, I'm surprised my thumb still works after all the contortion it's had from hitting the play and fast forward buttons. I was looking at a Haromony One but it was far too expensive. The 600 should do just fine, who really needs a color screen?
@jfine
I have an 880, and I mapped the up/down arrows to play and FF for almost all my activities. For TiVo, I use the 'Return' button for repeat.
With this arrangement, the play and FF fall right under my thumb, near the 4-way navigator, without having to do finger gymnastics.
@Spiny Norman Ah, that's a neat trick. Never occurred to me to remap the buttons. Thanks!
I have a Logitech Webcam that is unsupported in Windows 7 and a Logitech keyboard unsupported in Linux that are telling me NEVER BUY LOGITECH.
I bought the Harmony 550 in Dec. of 2008 for $59. The best money I ever spent. Sure it isn't top of the line, but it does everything I need it to do. I just don't understand why they don't include bluetooth in it to support PS3's. I don't really want to use an adapter.
@ytilanigiroon
The adapter takes a USB port, which is pretty lame. I use the USB ports on my PS3 for charging the controllers when I'm watching movies. Ergo if I had one USB port in use for remote, I charge one controller, and not both. The subsidizing the bluetooth chip business is just stupid. Look up ANY teardown for a product containing bluetooth. The chip costs $1-3. Which means at MAXIMUM the cost on the final product would increase by no more than $5-10. And it's not like a BT chip would only benefit PS3 owners. Countless HTPC owners, laptop owners, it goes down the line.
@Level 5
Or you could buy the Logitech IR-BT adapter that doesn't take up any USB ports on the PS3 and provides full control including power-on and power-off. Just a little box that sits in front of my TV and plugs into a power outlet. Works like a charm.
@GolfProRM
I'd say honestly using a power outlet over a USB port is even worse for my setup. The chips are so damn cheap, Logitech just wants to get all the extra dough from the IR/BT receivers. Lame.
@Level 5 More like 99% of consumer electronics do not use BT or RF for their remotes.
The 650 would be perfect if it had back lights. Kind of important.
@HotBBQ Oh these don't have backlight?!
@jfine Honestly, I'm not sure. When I used Logitech's website to compare the 650 with the 700 it did not have a check mark for back lighting on the 650. The features page for the 650 says it does.
Two more harmony remotes that are indistinguishable from the other three dozen harmony remotes. FFS Logitech, put a little effort into it. Every six months you put out a new remote and it is exactly like the old ones. Would it kill you to make a remote that includes HTPC functionality like a qwerty keypad and analog mouse control? It's not that hard: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1196532
I finally bought a Harmony One to upgrade my grape soda-ridden 880 (spent about an hour disassembling it and cleaning it) now my parents use it. Don't regret not waiting. Although I like seeing Logitech continue to upgrade the fleet.
I bit the bullet and bought the adapter for the PS3, and now system is back to being in "Harmony"... I bought a 120GB Slim strictly for Blu-Ray purposes (the BD390 was MIA forever). Man those couple of months of having to use the PS3 controller along with my 880 were hell. ;)
Having a PS3 for 2 months now, I plainly see that Bluetooth is way the frak better than IR... so a BT Harmony with an adapter to fire IR would get me interested.
Awesome! I applaud Logitech for making monochrome version. I could care less about colors on my remote's LCD screen! Although I have been eying harmony one, two things I don't like about it:
1. Price
2. Build in recharger because remote rests on the coffee table in the middle of the room and thus has no wires. I hate that fact, why can't it just use regular AA rechargeable batteries, I don't mind getting my ass up to put them into a charger in the next room...
5 Device limit is kind of lame (I'm sure they did it on purpose to sell higher models) but I might just get this 600 and save me $100