Nowadays Logitech has a wide range of universal remotes. The top ones I find too expensive, the cheap ones lack the cool functions I want. This one is somewhere in the middle. The main limitation is that it can only control 5 devices.
Looks and stuff
The remote looks OK. It also feels okay although I have to get used to the fact that the numpad is at the bottom. There's tons of reviews that go into depth about all this. For me it's exteriors are just fine enough to worry only about what it can do.
Screen
The screen displays colors. It is not a touch screen. Instead, four buttons (two at each side) are related to the respective parts of the remote control. Buttons below the screen allow you to go to the next page with 'screen items'. The buttons and the screen are backlit, which is nice in the dark. When you pick it up, it lights up. When you leave it for a while, it dims again.Universal remote
For starters, the Harmony remotes are universal. This means that they can replace other remotes. The accompanying software (more about that later) gives access to a huge database of devices. This database is quite extensive, I found my DVR, Asus HTPC and TV in there. Whenever your device is not present, you can 'learn' the Logitech Harmony 650 new tricks. I tried it for the remote that shipped with my cheapy cheapy RGB Led Lamp and it worked just fine. It takes some time to set up, but then it works flawlessly. Switching between devices is done using the screen-buttons. Btw: the Harmony 650 only works for IR (infrared) signals.
Non-standard functions
Some functions, such as play, OK, numbers, etc you will find on most remotes, so these you can map (well, if your remote is in the database, this is all done for you) one-on-one with your Harmony's buttons. The more unusual functions are all available via the screen buttons.
Activities
At the top of the remote, there's buttons for specific activities. Using the software, you can configure which devices are in use during such activities, and which are turned off. Also, the screen can display activity-related functions. A nice feature I find adding your favorite (multidigit) channels to the display, depicted by a custom image you can upload to the device, per channel. Another nice feature is that whenever an activity is selected, every individual button can be appointed to any of the devices (active during that activity). For instance, you can configure the play/pause buttons to control your DVR, the numbers to control your receiver and the volume up/down buttons to control your TV itself.
Customize
What I like so much about the remote, and what is not made clear enough in the reviews I could find, is the amount of customization you can do. You can map freely between original-remote functions and buttons on your device, or buttons on the screen. The latter ones you can also shuffle around, remove, or add, including their captions. I already mentioned the pictures for TV channels.
Software
The Harmony Remote 650 can be connected to the computer using USB. The software is only available for Windows and Mac (not Linux :s). At first glance, and for novice users, the software is very user friendly. Almost everything is set up via wizards and a lot of 'thinking' is done for you. For experienced users this is less practical: I would prefer a little but more conventional configuration interface. I noticed this for instance when trying to add an 'play music' activity, for which I use my TV and a connected PC. However the software didn't recognize any ('traditional') music-playing devices and didn't let me create this activity. In the end, I created a custom activity, appointed the TV and PC to that activity, configured both to be on and the TV set at the HDMI-1 input channel and appointed some buttons to the PC and some to the TV. Finally I connected this custom activity to the 'Play Music' activity button and renamed it to 'Play Music'. Same result, different route.
On/Off management
The remote tries to manage powering on and off all devices for you. There's only one power button which turns everything off that's still on. Switching between activities means turning off some devices and turning on others (of course some stay on, or stay off, as well). Since most devices are turned on and off with one button, the remote has to remember the state of all devices. It must also rely on all signals reaching all devices (signals are in some cases sent one by one, so you have to keep your remote pointed to the system). Although it seems a nice feature I found it more a curse than a blessing. Luckily the per-device power functions are still available via the screen.
Help Function
The remote can display hints and help on screen if you want to. This 'assistant' will ask you if all devices are actually turned off when you press power off, and assists to fix this if needed. I deactivated the assistant from day one.
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