From CES today Logitech announced the Harmony 1100 [Amazon.com] touchscreen home theater remote (see official press release). The Harmony 1100 is the successor to the troubled Harmony 1000 (which has issues with touch screen responsiveness, battery life – some of which Logitech eventually address with a firmware update. We like the change in appearance from silver to black.

The Harmony 1100 retails for $499 and ships in February. It can be Pre-Ordered via Amazon. We’ll have a Harmony 1100 vs Harmony 1000 comparison as soon as we get our hands on the 1100.

Like all Harmony’s remotes (see our Harmony Remote Comparison), the Harmony 1100 is setup via PC and Mac-based software. This allows much easier configuration of your home theater components into “Activities” (say, “Watch a DVD”, “Watch TV”, “Play a Game”, “Listen to Radio”). When you choose an Activity, Harmony knows the current status of your home theater equipment and automatically activates the necessary settings. When you switch from “Watch DVD” to “Watch TV”, for instance, the Harmony 1100 shuts off the DVD player, turns on your cable/satellite receiver, and chooses the proper inputs on your A/V Receiver and/or Television as needed.

Check the Official Logitech press release.

Note: So far it appears the Harmony 1100 like the 1000 before it, lacks Bluetooth. That might turn off some buyers, particularly those who use the PS3 as Bluray player.

Hollywood released some entertaining films in 2008 and as usual they wowed us with an impressive array of toys gadgets weapons machines and gizmos. Some are impossibly futuristic while others have resurfaced from technology (and movies) past. Sadly, good movies and good gadgets don’t always come hand-in-hand – we’re took a few bullets for “the team” in making this list.

The big screen is a vehicle for us to peer into the future and get as close as possible to experiencing not only what kinds of gadgets may exist but how they’ll work and behave. Each of the movie gadgets featured shows the the movie industry at its best – imagination come to life.

Read on as we count down our favorite gadgets from the movies in 2008.

**spoiler alert** We can’t talk about these great movie gizmos without giving away something of their role in the films. As such, read on with care. Skip the sections marked “The Context” if you have not seem a film from this list. You have been warned!

The Movie. Eagle Eye may not be high art but it does warn us of the capabilities – and thus dangers – of the everyday technology in our lives. Cell phones, PC’s, ATMs, GPS, surveillance cameras and let’s not forget the Internet. Since gizmos today record, track and communicate, they can potentially be made into tools to monitor and influence our actions. Alas Eagle Eye doesn’t quite transform this concept into a great movie.

The Gadget: Micro UAV. A miniature unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV in the biz) capable of fast flight and cutting-edge surveillance operations. Offers extreme portability.

The Context. Eagle Eye offers up two cool unmanned spy planes. One is a Predator spy plane appearing several times in the film. Predator UAV’s saw heavy by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Eagle Eye’s coolest gadget is the miniature UAV marvel launched by a soldier during the opening sequence to pursue, id and monitor a fast-moving target. The unmanned plane transmits optical and infrared images as well as long-range audio back to HQ. It has the muscle to pursue a speeding automobile. All this is delivered in a package small enough to fit in a backpack and provide true stealth reconnaissance. The Eagle Eye UAV appears to be a near-future iteration of existing military UAV’s like Dragon Eye and RQ-11 Raven. Good enough for #10 on this list.

Editor’s Note: We still aren’t completely  over our beef with Shia LaBeouf after Indy 4.

The Movie. Jumper could easily contend for #1 in the ‘crap movie’ list but luckily (for it, not us) a film’s artistic qualities do not matter here. It’s all about the gadgets. Jumper concerns a genetic anomoly that allows a small number of individuals to teleport at will. Pitted against them are the Paladins – who believe teleportation is harmful to the fabric of the universe.

The Gadget: Paladin Tether Weapon. A compact weapon that fires a high-velocity tether “line” to ensnare, electrocute and disable its target.

The Context. Paladins constantly are trying to pursue and capture or kill Jumpers – not an easy task when a Jumper target can literally disappear and reappear instantaneously almost anywhere. To combat this ability, the Paladin forgo bullets and TOW missiles. They get a little primitive in fact yet do it with style. And anything fired in Hayden Christianson’s direction is pretty satisfying anyway. The tether weapon looks like a ninja lightsaber. It explosively and accurately fires a line at a Jumper. If it succeeds in snaring its target, it discharges electric shocks that disrupt a Jumpers ability to teleport. Pretty cool. But we still want that 90 minutes of our lives back.

The Movie. This film is a like modern fairy tail whose most prominent attribute is its whimsical and engaging fantasy creatures – so it may seem like unlikely source of a cool movie gadget. But nevertheless Hellboy 2 made the made the grade. It’s a fun ride throughout.

Hellboy 2 Home Video

The Gadget: Schuffstein Glasses. Bizarre steampunk lenses which can penetrate the cloaking “glamor” aura of trolls and other fairy folk.

The Context. Hellboy and his team seek access to the underground troll market under the Brooklyn Bridge. Previous searches have been fruitless but the team is under new management in Doctor Johan Krauss. He provides crates containing the rare Schuffstein Glasses. Using Krauss’ superior investigative technique and the Schuffstein glasses, they find a mean old Scottish troll disguised as an old cat lady. Hellboys less gentle skills then take over and the team achieves its goal.

Editors Note: These gizmos remind us of two other famous movie spectacles – the rather infamous pair of sunglasses from They Live and Ray Stantz’s Ecto Goggles from Ghostbusters.

The Movie. Tropic Thunder is an irreverant send-up of Vietman movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. It’s also seeks to offend anyone it can and it covers a LOT of ground. Tropic Thunder features a number of great performances, most notably by Robert Downey Jr. There’s also an incredible cameo by Tom Cruise as Les Grossman, the Hollywood power-monger pulling the strings behind the filming of the fictional movie Tropic Thunder. We always knew Tom Cruise had some moves, we just didn’t expect these moves.

Tropic Thunder Home Video

The Gadget: The Goodie Room. Les Grosman won’t win any beauty awards, but he has a certain panache greatly enhanced by a killer stereo system and remote-controlled mood lighting. He also has a hilarious obsession with tough-guy rap songs like “Low” by Flo Rida and “Get Back” by Ludacris. Les gets what he wants and the Goodie Room is well equipped to back him up with some crazy freaky dance floor ambiance.

Futurama Video

The Movie. It wasn’t a theatrical release but it is a feature-length film, and hey, we’re making the rules here. Futurama’s goofy spin on the human race in the 31st Century always contains imaginative gadgeteering.

This time out, you have the usual Farnsworth inventions (such as ultra-hard substance ‘Diamondium’), Mr. Wino, a sort of an automatic coffee maker but for wine, and the insanely twisted Running Man-esque game show called Deathball Arena. This is literally a mega-sized Wooden Labyrinth Puzzle controlled by Farnsworth and Wernstrom while their human teams avoid giant lethal metal balls. Even better, Beast is a fun movie especially recommended for Simpsons and Futurama fans.

The Gadget: Barb-o-Mite. A hair gel composed of nano machines that Fry combs onto his unruly locks. In moments the nano bots shape and trim Fry’s coif back to its normal state. This is one nano application that we would love to have access to – no more bad hair days with Barb-o-Mite! Coming July, 3000 AD.

The Movie. What Quantum of Solace – as well as the first Daniel Craig Bond Casino Royale – lack in over-the-top Bondsian glitz, it more than makes up for in gritty realism. It’s no coincidence then that believability is the hallmark of our favorite Bond gadget of 2008.

The Gadget: Surface. A giant touchscreen display offering a high degree of interactivity.

The Context. It’s a scene after any gadget lovers heart. MI6 agents collaboratively chase leads and begin to piece together critical evidence leading to a shadow organization known as Quantum. The centerpiece is an investigative “ready room” for lack of a better term equipped with a tantalizing combination of large displays (one a long table, the other a wall), a touchscreen interface and a scanner.

Money is scanned, photos are ID’d, virtual images are rearranged and highlighted with finger touches and swipes of the hand. It’s all quite impressive. While it’s reminiscent of Minority Report, MI6’s room is far more believable.

Editor’s Note: The funny thing? This technology is real. Microsoft Surface was launched in 2007 and millions of TV viewers saw a version in action during MSNBC’s US election coverage. Custom installations are featured at premier locations such as Harrah’s and Disney’s Tomorrowland.

The Movie. What do you get when you combine venerable arcade games Spy Hunter, TRON and Bump ‘n’ Jump? This Wachowski Brothers ‘pile-up’ of a movie. In fact, way too much of the movie looks like a video game. And not a fun one either.

Speed Racer Home Video

The Gadget: The Mach 5. The Mach 5, Speed Racer’s primary vehicle, is impressive, packed with nimble moves, blazing speed and combat capabilities. In addition to its standard jump jacks and gatling guns, the Mach 5 is eventually fitted with a bullet-proof shielded cockpit, shredder, tire shields, emergency hot spare tires, twin front-mounted saw blades and tire crampons. So while Bond failed to provide us with a drool-worthy automobile in 2008, Speed Racer delivered the goods.

(As with most movies of this type – each one of the Mach 5’s abilities comes uniquely – perhaps suspiciously – handy during key moments in Speed’s race sequences.)

Editors Note: You’ll enjoy Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer) more as the emaciated, wayward adventurer in Into The Wild (2007). You’ll enjoy Matthew Fox (Racer X) more as the emaciated, wayward adventurer in Lost (TV).

The Movie. A tour de force and a worthy follow-up to 2005’s franchise-resurrecting Batman Begins. It’s rare a movie franchise improves with age and it’s especially satisfying to see Batman relevant again. The two most recent entries arguably are the best in the canon. The Dark Knight is also chock full of insane machines and toys. Picking just one was a challenge.

Bat Man Home Video

The Gadget: Skyhook. A surface-to-air personnel extraction system that doesn’t require an aircraft to land. Skyhook itself exists and it has been seen in several films, notably James Bond Thunderball. It still kicks ass.

The Context. DA Harvey Dent and Lt. Gordon ask Batman to extract mobster accountant Lau from Hong Kong. Lau is shown holed up in a tall secure office tower surrounded by security forces, body guards and modern surveillance & security gear. Lau has also paid off the Hong Kong police force.

Bruce Wayne hatches an ingenious and ballsy entry and escape plan requiring a combination of futuristic gizmos – the key gadget being Skyhook. The Hong Kong sequence is short and breathtaking.

Fox schedules a meeting with Lau and plans a cell-phone EMP in the lobby which can be remotely activated. Wayne, now suited up as Batman, fires shaped charges on synchronized timers from a nearby building. The EMP is triggered disabling surveillance and communication systems in Lau’s building. Batman then cape-glides to an upper floor and smashes in through a window near Lau’s location. Batman quickly dispatches Lau’s personal body guards and grabs Lau. The police and security detail react quickly and have Batman cornered holding Lau captive. The shaped charges blow the window behind Batman, who immediately deploys a homing beacon. Seconds later Batman and Lau are suddenly yanked from the broken window by a cargo plane fitted for the Skyhook system. It’s an impressive sequence that epitomizes Batman’s imaginative gadgeteering.

The Movie. Pixar’s 2008 film is an animated masterpiece. Earth has been choked by garbage and all humans now live far out in space. All that’s left in motion on Earth is a single garbage cleanup unit named Wall-E who dutifully executes his primary function for centuries, collecting interesting bits of junk and barely managing to survive the harsh Earth environment. Wall-E’s journey is entertaining to behold.

Wall-E Home Video

The Gadget: Wall-E. Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is a small tough droid left to clean up after humans littered and abandoned Earth. Wall-E units are essentially autonomous solar-powered garbage compactors.

The Context. Wall-E is proof positive that personality can be just as if not more important than the spec sheet. Pixar imbued this simple droid with an engaging personality and ingenuity. Skyhooks, RC spy planes and race cars are cool, but after a few minutes with Wall-E you can’t help but love him. The scene where he temporarily loses his sense of identity is stunning – you can see the human “magic” is (temporarily) missing and the effect is shocking.

Wall-E is devoted to duty, compassionate, smart, tough and resourceful. While lots of gadgets have a nice initial “wow” factor, Wall-E is the one you could happily live with forever.

Editor’s Note: One day we hope animatronic pets/toys such as Pleo, D-Rex, Kota, Furrby and Elmo Live live up to Wall-E’s promise. Everyone should have one.

The Movie. Iron Man delivers a great movie and an incredible gadget to boot. Tony Stark, comic book anti-hero, is an arms dealer whose eyes are forcibly opened to the injustices of his trade. He has profited from the exploitation of the worlds hot spots. Iron Man details his transformation from profiteer to defender of those who cannot defend themselves.

Iron Man Home Video

The Gadget: Mark III Armor Suit. A powered exo-skeleton armor capable of dishing out a lot of abuse, taking the same or more, and flying great distances.

The Context. The movie goes through several iterations of Tony Stark’s trademark “Iron Man” flying armor – from the most crude Mark I which he uses to escape captivity from terrorists to the Mark III that figures into the final battle. The power armor is composed of a gold-titanium alloy and is the culmination of many of Tony Starks engineering masterpieces in a single sleek package. It is powered by Tony’s arc reactor heart, can fire projectile bursts of energy, can fly via 4 air control surfaces, provides long-range communication and has a heads-up display (HUD) that fighter pilots can only dream of. It is a beautiful work of imagination that only the movies can deliver in quite this way.

Editor’s Note: Thank you for joining us as we looked back at the 2008. For 2009 we will occasionally highlight standout movie gadgets throughout the year, as well as our usual coverage of all things gadgets and technology. See you there!

Those looking for a stylish unique compact and powerful set of desktop speakers for your PC iTunes or iPod need look no further than the Harmon Kardon GLA-55 2.0 Speaker System. While the design fits right in with this holiday season we have a feeling these will continue to be conversation starters right through, say, 2012.

The way the audio controls and jacks are integrated makes this a beauty to behold (see photo below).

The GLA-55 speaker system delivers 110W (55 per channel) and near-reference quality audio performance throughout the frequency spectrum. More than a pretty face Harmon Kardon made sure that this system shares the DSP and high-end speaker components found in their line of audiophile speakers. Harmon Kardon is never known as ‘cheap’ but with all this punch laying below the surface you may be hard pressed to find regular boxy 3-way speakers with this combination of price performance and size, much less ones that look this cool.

Read more from Amazon.

Compared: Harmony One vs. Harmony 880

You know the beautiful Harmony universal remotes crafted by Logitech.  Once relegated mostly to the home theater “haves” these have become downright affordable.  We’re ready to share our research on two top contenders: Harmony One and the Harmony 880.

Admit it.  You’ve got a couch-load of universal remotes.  That’s because these days every device in your entertainment center came with a universal remote.  You know the type.  Chock full of tiny non-descript buttons that you can’t remember or find in the dark.

Happily Logitech perfected the universal remote by embedding bright, colorful LCD screens and making easy-to-use PC/Mac software to tailor that bright screen to provide control of your home theater by function rather than device.  Even better, you can add icons to your favorite channels, features, etc.

The newer Harmony One and venerable Harmony 880are both great remotes.  They are both a snap to configure on the computer with the easy software that knows every home theater device known to man.  The biggest difference?  The Harmony One boasts a super-slick touch screen but also has a little less polish being the newer of the two.  But they both more than get the job done.

We dream of a Blu-ray Christmas

Blu-ray is nearing 3 years old, and getting toward a year past the demise of its only competition – HD-DVD. HD-DVD called it quits early 2008 but few homes have made room for the HD Blu-ray format in the living room. While high-quality LCD’s and Plasma’s continue to get snapped up at record pace ahead of the holidays, most homes lack a true HD-quality video source. We take close a look at the Blu-ray landscape and find a lot of things to like as well as some recommended products if you’re looking to get started.

Blu-Ray Format

Blu-Ray has a number of strong capabilities and it has also become quite a bit more affordable.  A few years ago you could expect to pay $600 or up for a player.  Today you can get a good one for just over $200.  (There are options under $200 but come with too many issues for us to recommend at this time.)  Here are some of the top benefits of Blu-Ray:

• Only HD optical format supported industry-wide
• Markedly improved resolution and video quality compared to DVD
• 50 GB per Disc
• Over 9 hours of HD video per disc
• Wide range of popular video and audio formats (Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, etc.)
• Support for downloading additional dynamic content if internet connection available
• Blu-ray readers and burners can be purchased inexpensively for PC’s and Mac’s  (See popular Blu-ray Drives for PC/Mac)

It once was the case that Blu-ray discs were hard to find, but today popular video services like NetFlix and Blockbuster Online will send a growing number of Blu-ray titles right to your house and of course the local video store is likely to have them as well.

Playing The Blu’s

Blu-ray can make your favorite movies (our current faves on Blu-ray are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
or The Ultimate Matrix Collection) truly amazing.  Where do you go from here?  Unfortunately this is where a lot of people get stuck and understandably so.

There are two paths – either gets you to the best video and audio playback to take advantage of your LCD or Plasma.

First, you can get a standard player.  Many people prefer this method as it’s traditional, fits well into existing home theater cabinets and is “plug and play” (put the disc in, it plays, done).  Prices have dropped incredibly and now some pro-quality Blu-ray players can be had under $300.  In our research, we have identified two to consider:

Panasonic DMP-BD30K Player – consistently receives top ratings from consumers and professionals alike for its good build quality, sleek appearance, feature set and overall video quality.  It is a very fast-loading player meaning it’s responsive to your requests.

Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player.  Sony invented the format, so it’s no surprise they make an excellent player. While you will pay a premium (as usual) for Sony’s equipment, rest assured the BDP-S350 has a number of great features, including an ethernet cable to download player updates and to download internet-only extras and behind-the-scenes content.  The Panasonic DMP-BD30K lacks internet connectivity.

One additional player option is worth considering, especially those with children in the house (or children-at-heart).  The Playstation 3 Console from who else – Sony. These start at $299 – or only a few dollars more than the recommended dedicated Blu-ray players above) but offer far more for your entertainment dollar. In addition to being a well-regarded and capable Blu-ray playback machine, the PS3 has a full internet browser, can playback all sorts of content you download off the PC (including DivX format video), serve as an “iTunes in your living room”, and did we mention that it plays games in 1080p ?

The major downside of the PS3 comes right from one of its benefits.  For the non-gaming home or the traditionalist set, all those extra features could make simpler activities like watching a Blu-ray movie Friday night an exercise in frustration.  Although the PS3 auto-plays Blu-ray discs on startup, there are a number of menus and a traditional remote control must be purchased extra (you can of course remote-control the PS3 with the included gaming controller).

Summary

The home theater format war over – at least for now.  Tons of Blu-ray titles are available at retail and from rental services.  But perhaps as importantly, Blu-ray players are finally getting to be a sensible choice for those looking to make the most of their home theater investment.  If you have already purchased great speakers and a crystal clear LCD/Plasma, do yourself a favor and spend a few hundred more so you can get the most of it.  Blu-ray is the uncontested king of video formats today.  Many will continue to be satisfied with DVD and it’s not going anywhere of course.  But the home theater enthusiast/fence-sitter should seriously consider if this holiday season there’s going to be a Blu-Christmas.