I am thinking of getting my mom and boyfriend universal remotes for christmas. I was looking at the Logitech 880 and 890 on Amazon.com and since I am not very good with electronics to me the only difference is the 880 has a docking station and rechargeable batteries and the 890 can control appliances and lighting and also doesn't need a direct line to the object. I just can't see paying $125 more for the 890 if that is the only difference. So if any of you guys have a universal remote you want to reccommend or have a suggestion on if I should buy the 880 or 890 let me know! Thanks!!

Just got the 880 harmony, and it works great with the samsung 61 dlp, the yamaha 661 av receiver, and the phillips dvd player.
One button turns everything on, or off, and each device has it's own menu screens for fine tuning, if needed. I recommend it.

Here's a C|Net/SFGate article from today (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/12/BUE8T96QP.DTL) that compares four new universal remotes. We have the Logitech Harmony 670 and love it. Best remote ever.

The one key difference (feature-wise) between the 880 and 890 is that the 880 is IR-only, while the 890 has both IR and RF capability. If your electronic components (e.g., TV, DVD player, stereo receiver) are in a location/position such that they are not able to clearly receive the IR signal being transmitted by an IR remote, then you'll probably need an RF remote like the 890. If there is nothing (well, glass is an exception) blocking the path between the remote and your equipment, then an IR remote will do. I have both a Logitech Harmony 880 (paid only around $120 for it) and a Home Theater Master MX-500 remote--both have their pros and cons, and as such I would not completely give up one for the other (the MX-500 stays downstairs, while the 880 is used upstairs).

As far as which IR remote to go with--the 880 (as well as pretty much the entire Harmony line) is a highly-rated remote, but some folks are turned off by its' price; the Harmony remotes are a bit more pricey when compared to other remotes in the same class but if price isn't that much of an object, then I say go w/ whatever Harmony model suites your fancy.

I've been a Harmony owner for several years, I've been through about 4 or 5 of them so far.

My current model is the 550. I prefer it to the 880 because I can manually change the batteries when they fail. I had all kinds of problems with several 880s and charging, eventually I sold the replacement unit they had sent me under warranty repair and bought a 550.

Having said that, the devices are incredible. I can't imagine how I would manage my (fairly complex) living room appliances without them...

They have always had good cross platform support, too (I'm a Mac user).

David...

I wish logitech would come out with a remote that supports bluetooth also...that way I can control the ps3 when playing movies!

Thanks for your input.

So what's with the Logitech 880 and charging? If the battery dies you have to return it?

Thanks for your input.

So what's with the Logitech 880 and charging? If the battery dies you have to return it?

Essentially, yes. If you're lucky to get one that doesn't have issues, it's wonderful - I have several friends with ones that have not failed. Mine, however, hated me.

I should point out that I do have terrible luck with devices that are rechargable, and because of that, I end up buying things that eat batteries...

The warranty service was usually quite quick, by the way, a new remote would be received in about 5 days.

David...

Thanks for your input.

So what's with the Logitech 880 and charging? If the battery dies you have to return it?
If it's within the 1-year warranty period--yes; otherwise you'd have to order a replacement battery (it is end-user replaceable). Given that the battery is Li-Ion, I'd recommend that you recharge it only when the battery is about to die since I read somewhere that its' lifespan is reduced a bit more quickly if its' subjected to excessive and/or frequent recharging.

Note that unlike the 550 (or similar models that use AA/AAA batteries), the 880 obviously can't be used while it's being charged in the charging cradle; it would have been nice if the 880 charger came w/ an extra slot to charge a second battery so that when your primary battery dies, you can quickly swap it out w/ the secondary one. Then again, you could just always charge the remote overnight...but it would suck if your remote happens to die right in the middle of while you're using it.

Alrighty. I purchased it from Amazon. I didn't buy a warranty or anything with it because the one that Amazon offered was from a third party and I didn't like how it worked. You send them the remote if it stops working and they send you a check so you can buy a new one off of Amazon. That just didn't sit well with me even though they were suggested by Amazon.

Hopefully this works out well! Thanks everyone!