Fantastic Remote! Buttons could be better

Overview
Overall, I can't say enough about this remote! I love it! For once there is a universal remote that one can hold, which will truly replace every IR and RF remote that you own! Many products come with universal remotes that can do some of the functions of your other remotes, but none can really handle all of it.

The Device
The remote itself is not a lot different in size than your average cable or satellite remote, which means you can hold it in one hand (unlike other mega univeral remotes like the Sony Commander). The top section of the remote has a screen that displays programmable buttons that aren't available on the hard buttons themselves. The ONLY complaint I have about this remote is that they spent more time trying to make it look nice, and not enough time actually giving the buttons a tactile presence. What I mean by that is that you have to look at the remote to know where the buttons are and which you are about to press as the surface is pretty smooth, even where the buttons are. The screen is VERY easy to read, and you can change the text for any programmable button to read whatever you want.

How it works
One of the biggest pitfalls programmable remotes struggle with is dealing with single button input selections many devices use. For example, many TVs have one Input or TV/Video button that when pressed cycles through the available inputs. The remote never knows what input you are on, so when you want to program one button to switch multiple settings, it doesn't know how to get you from where you are to where you want to go. Logitech has worked their way nicely around this! You enter into the software all the available inputs and their order, and start it off on a known input, and from then on, it knows where it is! FANTASTIC!

The next concept they created is what my wife likes (and my inlaws, parents etc). Its the idea of activities. On our remote for example there are the following activities: Watch DVD, Watch Cable, Listen to Radio, Listen to IPOD etc. If you are watching cable and decide you want to watch a DVD, you press the activities button, then press the Watch DVD button, and the remote turns off the cable box, switches the TV input, switches the AMP input and voila, you are ready to watch a DVD. When you want to go back to watching cable, you press the Watch Cable button, and it correctly switches you back to all the settings you want for watching cable. You can add as many commands as you'd like to this, so if you have a fancy AMP and what it to select its THX surround setting, you can add that to the programming (called a macro).

All of the programming is done via a reasonably intuitive Windows (not sure if it has a MAC app too) application, and once you've made your changes, you plug in your remote via USB and it uploads them.

Radio Frequency
Because this remote functions via radio frequency, and has an extender, you can put your components in a cabinet and the remote will still operate them. Likewise, if you are on the patio with your outdoor speakers, you can adjust the volume from the outside. The other benefit is that because you don't need line of sight to the devices like you do with Infrared (IR), it rarely if ever gets itself out of sync. Often IR remotes will miss a command when for example, your wife or child walks in front of you when you press a button. With other programmable remotes, you then need to get things in sync again--a royal pain!

Help Menu
Another great feature is the help menu. If for some reason, something does get out of sync, you can press help, and the remote asks you a series of questions about what the problem is, and then corrects it. For example, you come down in the morning and press "Watch Cable", and for some reason the AMP doesn't turn on. If you press help, it will ask "Is the TV on -YES/No", you respond "Yes" and is continues through these questions until it gets to "Is the AMP on?" and you answer "No" on the buttons, and it turns it on, and then asks "Did that solve the problem?" and continues if there are other problems! Great for novices and experts alike!

Sony BLOWS
This remote will handle pretty much every device you own with one exception that I know of, and that is the PS3. Sony in its infinite wisdom only put a bluetooth remote option on the PS3. At this time, this remote doesn't handle bluetooth. Why Sony did this, I cannot imagine---they are IDIOTS! So if you plan on getting a PS3 and want only one remote, perhaps you should wait a year or two until someone makes a universal remote that will handle bluetooth.

Where to Buy
I bought my on EBAY and paid $240 for it. I wasn't about to pay the then list price at Best Buy of $399. Shop on EBay and you should be able to get a similar deal.