Help is always accessible via the blue backlit LCD display if you run into conflicts.

In today’s fast changing world, simplifying our lives has always been one of our a lifelong goals. And what better way to simplify your everyday life than to systematically control all your appliances with a…remote. A universal remote that is. Who ever invented the TV remote started the couch potato revolution and with a universal remote, it goes beyond the couch because you can basically control everything with but the kitchen sink (or do they have these already?)! Because my wife loves watching the news, scanning channels for nice TV shows and watching DVD every now and then, I recently got ourselves a Logitech Harmony 525. I got the Harmony 525 from a bargain bin at a relatively cheap price of 50% off but its retail price seems to be US$99.00 based from Logitech’s website. What’s great about the Harmony 525 is that it lives up to its name–it lets you turn on several appliances on a single click of a button! You can assign profiles like “Watch DVD” such that when you click on this button, it automatically turns on your TV, sets it to video input, turns on your DVD player and plays the current DVD! That’s harmony, right? Furthermore, you can control up to 10 different devices with it and supports up to 225,000 different devices and brands across the globe.

The Harmony 525 sports some sort of matte plastic which makes it easy to grip and sturdy.

The Logitech Harmony 525 feels solid and sturdy despite its plastic casing. It fits the hand snuggly and it has infra red transmitters on top, bottom and at the back of the remote which enables you to control your appliances at any angle you point the remote at. The blue backlit LCD provides immediate Help in case you run into conflicts or troubles. The only drawback with the Harmony 525 is that you need to connect it to your PC via USB, in order to download the codes for each of your appliances. It includes a software that connects to Logitech’s website and downloads the necessary codes for every appliance you wish to control with the remote. It runs on 4 AAA batteries which lasts for months even on everyday use. Overall, we’ve been using the device for more than two months now and we’re happy with the Harmony 525. I can’t wait until they come up with a version where I can also control my dog and my car!