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We've played with various remotes over the years--picked up a Harmony a year or two ago, but don't use it much (poor response on too many buttons--keep it as a backup when a regular remote fails). I really like the thought behind the Skip 1s, and was very tempted to back it, but given our htpc is windows-based, having an air mouse has become a must-have--is it possible that it could be added in a future version? (Skip 2s?)
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jjd-uk
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Yep after the announcement of Harmony remotes being discontinued, the prices of Harmony remotes shot up as people sought to snap them up while stock existed. I mentioned $50 as that was the rrp of the Harmony 650, which at the time of the announcement was the current bottom of the range remote.
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The reason the price shot up was that programmable remote users knew that despite the (many, substantial) flaws - Harmony really were the best/only reasonably priced solution that was genuinely really good.
If you hung out on remote forums over the last 20 years, there's always been nice options in the expensive custom install market - but they are not DIY, and cost a bomb. There was a very big market for an in-between product, combining enough hard buttons (which remote users always want so as to use in the dark etc) - with a programmable component with a 'live-labelling' system - i.e. a screen. MX etc had options, but overall, Harmony had for years and years the best solution, despite the awful software, and sluggish performance etc. There's no question, they were the absolute kings of the market and ignoring what made them successful (despite their flaws) - is a risk.
This new option looks to solve one issue (the software improvements) and as a basic V1 model might suffice for some, but it's as yet missing the boat (frankly it's not even on the dock) - to the mid price DIY market that Harmony really nailed. I think that Flirc have convinced themselves that ease of use was the primary issue - and it certainly was a big issue, but I am not yet convinced folks looking for a programmable remote solution will accept such a big step back in hardware at the same time. But product design etc is seriously hard and I wish them every luck and I presume/hope they've done enough research to do well with this. Other Flirc products I have bought have been very good. Fingers crossed that they do well with this, but also listen to feedback, and as a next step release a real Harmony 650 killer (5+ devices, and a screen, being absolutely key to that, and ideally IR and bluetooth both). Because those things sold in ridiculous numbers...so there's definitely a market there.
(If only Logitech did not kill of great things like Squeezeboxes and Harmony....they are simply the wrong parent company for more complex devices with higher customer service requirements....sigh)
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