The $US150 Logitech Harmony 700 is much like their other non-touchscreen universal remotes in that you have a load of physical buttons to push. However, the 700 is difference since it gives you four physically labelled activity keys.

When using Logitech remotes, the point is to let the remote know every single appliance in your setup so you can focus on “activities”, such as watching TV, or playing your Xbox, or watching a Blu-ray on your PS3. That way your remote knows exactly which thing needs to be on—and which boxes don’t—for what you want to do. Since these activities are now tied to a separate physical button, you can just hit that button instead of scrolling through a list in order to get where you’re going. It saves a few seconds each time, but adds up over years of TV watching.

Other features on the 700 include a colour LCD screen, rechargeable AAs and compatibility with the standard Logitech remote setup program. It will be available in September. [Logitech]