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 January 1, 2007 SoundStage! A/V's 2006 Products of the Year There is a lot to consider when selecting the outstanding products of any year, but if we could only use four words that summarize this year’s picks, they’d be "innovation," "convenience," "functionality," and "performance."
SoundStage! Network editor-in-chief Marc Mickelson reviewed the 880 in our "On HiFi" section. He summarizes: "Why a universal remote as product of the year? Why not when it's this intelligently designed and executed? The Harmony 880 addresses the great deficiency of other universal remotes -- the arcane programming they require -- with a slick, user-friendly website through which you define devices and activities for the remote. Then, via a USB connection, the website does the programming. The Harmony 880 adds a color LCD screen and rechargeable battery to the feature list, enhancing its overall ergonomics even further. The Harmony 880 is an ingenious device. It takes away the drudgery of programming a universal remote and thereby redefines the entire category." I reviewed
the Transporter in "On HiFi" last month. Quite simply, I hadn’t
encountered such an innovative, versatile and feature-rich product in years. I was bowled
over with it the moment I got it set up. Combined with the company’s free SlimServer
software running on a home PC, the Transporter creates a music-server solution that is as
high performing as it is easy to use. Congratulations to Logitech for the Harmony 880 and Transporter. They are two of the most cleverly conceived A/V products on the market today, and we’re proud to recognize them as SoundStage! A/V’s 2006 Products of the Year. ...Doug Schneider
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The Harmony 880 remote control ($249
USD) and Slim Devices Transporter network music player ($1999) both share those attributes
and, perhaps not coincidentally, the same parent company -- Logitech of Switzerland.
Logitech acquired Canada-based Intrigue Technologies, the creator of the Harmony remotes,
in 2004. In the fall of 2006, they acquired US-based Slim Devices, maker of the
Transporter and the lower-priced Squeezebox network music player. Obviously, Logitech has
a keen eye for companies developing advanced consumer products.
Slim Devices took a gamble on the Transporter, their first foray
into the sometimes-finicky audiophile market, and hit the ball out of the park with this
outstanding product. If the Harmony 880 redefines the entire category of remote controls,
the Transporter redefines what an audiophile-grade digital front-end can, and probably
will, look like.