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Logitech just announced a new Harmony Smart Keyboard that it says is specifically designed for controlling Apple TV and similar living room devices. The idea is that the Harmony Smart Keyboard, with support for “225,000 home-entertainment devices and over 5,000 brands,” will become your ultimate living room controller. The keyboard packs in a touchpad on the right hand side, a ton of quick launch functions for changing channels, browsing menus, and controlling media, and a number of interesting new features powered by the included Harmony WiFi hub and companion app. It’s essentially the best of both worlds from Logitech’s keyboard and Harmony remote products.
The Harmony Smart Keyboard comes with the Harmony Hub, a mini IR blaster, two USB micro receivers, and a USB extender. The WiFi hub has a few uses: it can turn your smartphone or tablet into a universal remote for your living room devices, but it also allows you to hide your devices behind doors and use the mini IR blaster to relay commands. The Harmony hub relays commands from the keyboard using infrared, Bluetooth, WiFi, or the USB micro receivers.
Once you use Logitech’s companion app to connect the Harmony hub to your WiFi network and connect to your various devices like an Apple TV or PlayStation, you’ll be able to customize the experience by assigning certain functions to certain devices. For example, you can set up the “Movie” button on the keyboard to automatically turn on Apple TV and switch to the right inputs or launch Netflix through a different device. You’ll be able to manage up to eight devices at once paired to the same Harmony Smart Keyboard.
The Harmony Smart Keyboard is available from Logitech’s website now for $149.99.
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