Following the recent announcement and availability of the $399.95 Harmony 900, Logitech has yet another new model up their sleeves: it’s the $149.95 Harmony 700, and it was revealed to the world only yesterday. While the Harmony 900 is an upgrade of the popular Harmony One, offering RF capabilities as well as several new hard buttons, the Harmony 700 is of course a downgrade.

The general style of the new model is the same as the One and 900, with a similar hard button look and layout. The biggest change is that the snazzy color touchscreen has been nixed, replaced with a smaller color LCD screen with four adjacent customizable hard buttons. Three additional buttons at the bottom of the screen change LCD pages and access a context-sensitive menu. The premium piano gloss finish has also been swapped out with a less stylish (but probably more durable) matte texturing. The 700 continues to utilize a rechargeable battery – a pleasant surprise at this price point. However the number of supported devices has dropped from the Harmony norm of 15 to just 6... which will cover an average A/V system with a TV, STB, DVD player, receiver, game console and iPod, but users with larger systems will have to step up to more expensive units.

The Harmony 700 can already be ordered at Amazon.com.

The original press release is provided below:

Logitech Harmony 700 Remote Simplifies Home Entertainment

FREMONT, Calif. — Sept. 3, 2009 — You and your family love to be entertained – enjoying TV, movies, games and music – in the comfort of your living room. But getting to your entertainment can be difficult, often requiring that you use several remotes just to get to your favorite TV show. The Logitech Harmony® 700 remote, the newest universal remote from Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI), can help simplify your home entertainment by replacing up to six remotes. The Harmony 700 remote features a color screen, rechargeable batteries and one-click control of your favorite activities.

“Millions of families around the world are investing in better home-entertainment systems, complete with flat-screen TVs and other devices; however, each new device adds another remote to the coffee table and another level of complexity to what should be an enjoyable experience,” said Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s Harmony business unit. “If you have a half-dozen components and an AV receiver, the new Logitech Harmony 700 is the smartest way to get the most out of that setup.”

One-Click Control

To get you to your entertainment faster, the Logitech Harmony 700 remote offers one-button control. Instead of a complex series of button presses, or complicated lists of what to turn on or which button to select, after completing the online setup, you just select what you want to do – such as “Watch a DVD” – and your Logitech Harmony 700 remote does the rest.

Color LCD Screen

The color LCD screen gives you at-a-glance access to your entertainment options. For example, if you’re watching TV, you can see icons for your favorite channels, making it easy to jump to your favorite shows with one click – there’s no need to enter, or remember, the channel number.

Always Charged and Ready

The Harmony 700 comes with rechargeable AA batteries that can go several weeks between charges. When it’s time, just connect the remote to the power adaptor and plug it in to recharge. You won’t have to hunt for fresh batteries when it’s time for your favorite show.

Easy To Set Up

Setting up the Logitech Harmony 700 remote is a snap. You’ll never need to punch a code into your remote. Instead, you connect Logitech’s newest remote to your PC or Mac® computer, go to www.logitech.com/MyHarmony, and download the software. You’ll then be prompted to enter the name of your component and the model number – the Logitech Harmony software does the rest. From Betamax to Blu-Ray – you can be sure the Logitech Harmony 700 remote can control virtually any IR home-electronic device. Our online database of more than 250,000 home entertainment devices grows every day. So, you can be sure your remote will work with what you own today and what you add tomorrow.

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech Harmony 700 remote is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in September for a suggested retail price of $149.99 (U.S.).

For discussion on the Harmony visit our message forum.