- Sharper Image e-Vac Robot Vacuum
- JaceTech DDP-1500 WiFi-Enabled PMP
- Logitech Harmony 680 Universal Media Center Remote
- HP z500 Series Digital Entertainment Center PC
- HP x5400 Media Center Extender
- Niveus Denali Hi-Def Media Center 2005 Edition PC
- Philips Streamium TV
- MSN TV 2
- Sony Monster VAIO Type X
- Digital Cube i-Station PMP1000
Logitech Harmony 680 Universal Media Center Remote
Looking for the best universal remote with native Windows Media Center 2005 capabilities? According to Logitech's press release for the Harmony 680 universal remote control (see Figure 3), "The Harmony 680 remote has three dedicated one-touch activity buttonsMy Videos, My TV, and My Musicthat correspond to the same activities found within the Windows XP Media Center OS. These activity buttons can control the Media Center PC and any other entertainment-system component used in that activity. The remote has eight additional buttons specifically designed to control live and recorded digital television through the Media Center PC. While the Harmony 680 remote can control the Media Center PC immediately when taken out of the box, it's also easy to set up additional one-touch activities and control of devices that are not part of the Media Center PC."
If you have $199.95 lying around, you can throw away your other annoying remotes in favor of this one; the Harmony can control as many as 15 devices. This remote promises never to be outdated; you can download codes to update the gadget for use with today's and future devices. The Harmony's "Smart State Technology" also detects the state of each individual entertainment device and then sends the appropriate commands for setting up a new activity. Thus, the Harmony can "launch the media PC, TV, DVD, and receiver; set the inputs; and even start a DVD movieall with one touch of a button."