Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, let me be clear that I did not buy this remote to use with my smartphone/tablet, as I have no interest in doing this - I must have a dedicated remote with real buttons. Instead, I bought it strictly for use with the included simple remote. As such, this review only covers my experience using the included remote. I have had harmony remotes in the past, and have always found that their biggest "flaw" was that you had to keep the remote carefully pointed at the components while the activity sequence was performed. And, even when being careful, things would inevitably upset the process (e.g. kids, dogs, flying objects) - this is simply the nature of the IR beast. One solution to this problem is to use an RF remote (or WiFi device) that broadcasts to a "hub," that then turns around and controls your components with IR blasters. Logitech had solved this problem with at least 2 previous products - the Link, which didn't have a dedicated remote so that was out for me, and the 900, which did meet all of my criteria, but was just too expensive for me to justify its purchase. Enter the Harmony Smart Control - it does exactly everything I need it to for an excellent price. The smart control package consists of an RF-only remote (no IR), a hub (which is also an IR blaster itself), and one auxiliary IR emitter. The intent is that you put the hub in your media cabinet so it can control all the components in there, and then place the IR emitter (which plugs into the back of the hub) outside the cabinet so it can control your TV. For myself, I wanted to be absolutely certain there was never a missed IR signal, so I elected to purchase the Logitech Precision IR cables and attached one of the emitters to each of my devices, and stuck the hub under my entertainment cabinet to keep it out of the way. Once setup, everything has worked flawlessly - there has not been a single missed command that I am aware of, and there is no perceptible lag between pushing a button on the remote and having the resultant action occur. Furthermore, the remote itself is compact, light-weight, has a nice textured back surface, and very solid feeling buttons. So, from the point of view of using the included remote, Logitech has absolutely nailed it with this product, and I will be purchasing several more for the other TV setups in my house. One final note: you do not need a smartphone/tablet to program this setup, you simply go to the harmony website and plug in the hub via the included USB cable when prompted.