Logitech’s Ultimate and final remote
Logitech announced plans in January to sell its Harmony universal remote-control products division, as part of a strategic review that will see it focus more on PC, tablet and smartphone-related products.
But the Swiss company, which reported a disappointing $180m loss in its last quarter as PC-related sales slumped, is still coming out with new products, with two Harmony universal remotes announced today for the US and Europe. Read more
Logitech tracks Windows 8 with new mice
The advent of a touch-optimised Windows 8 operating system might sound like bad news for a company like Logitech, best known for its keyboards and mice.
But the Swiss peripherals maker has come up with some much needed accessories for those times when touchscreens are clumsy to use or missing, and built-in controls are just not adequate for the new ways of navigating. Read more
Logitech shines with solar-powered keyboard
I am typing this review on the Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio, a new iPad case and keyboard from the Swiss peripherals maker.
As the name suggests, it is powered by the sun’s rays, or any kind of light will charge its battery really, as long as you remember to place the cover with the embedded solar panel face up. Logitech says a full charge allows typing for up to two years. Read more
Logitech expands Ultimate Ears for mobile music
Logitech, the computer peripherals maker that has seen keyboards and mice sales hit by the advent of the smartphone and tablet, is expanding its premium Ultimate Ears (UE) brand to become a mass-market name for products that meet the musical needs of the Apple-led mobile crowd.
This necessary shift – Logitech admitted last year it had missed opportunities in this newer market – begins with the launch today of Logitech UE headphones, speakers and even an internet radio. Read more
Logitech Harmony’s missing Link
An iPad app that can do away with all your living-room remotes and replace the on-screen TV grid with a more colourful programme guide sounds the perfect solution for uncluttering the viewing experience. Logitech’s Harmony Link, which went on sale in the US on Thursday, sets out to do that, but I found the app and its associated hardware fell frustratingly short of this aim. Read more
Google TV cut 60 per cent to $100
Logitech has cut the price of its Logitech Revue set-top box by 60 per cent to $99.99 from $249.99 in another sign that Google TV has failed to catch on with consumers. There are no indications that, as is often the case, the price cut presages a new Google TV unit from Logitech, which is the only company currently offering a standalone Google TV box. The Revue was launched last October at $300. Read more
The last television I bought combined the richness and clarity of a 21st century high-definition picture with the kind of tinny sound I remember from 1960s transistor radios.
My 50-year mismatch of audio and visual experience may have been extreme, but sound that is as thin as the new, wonderfully slim flat-panel TVs has become a common complaint, now that they are reduced to LED-lit slivers and the speakers inside have been shrunk smaller and flatter. Read more
Creating and starring in your own reality TV show has never been so easy, thanks to the latest batch of security cameras for the home.
For the past week, I have been watching a matrix of screens on my office computer showing live action in my house, from vacuuming in the living room to conversations in the kitchen, workmen laying a floor in the hall, squirrels shooting across the driveway and deliveries at the door. Read more
Google TV – too buttoned up for the living room
Getting to know Google TV involves familiarisation with 80 buttons on Sony’s remote control, compared to just three on the recently launched Apple TV.
The extra 77 buttons, plus function-key combinations, sum up how, in trying to combine a full web experience with regular television, Google and its partners have added a complexity that may intimidate many consumers.
I reviewed Sony and Logitech’s Google TV units in the Personal Technology column in Friday’s FT Business Life section and compared them with rival systems. An extended breakdown of how Google TV shapes up against the competition is after the jump. Read more
Logitech launches Google TV at $300
Logitech has set a benchmark price of $300 for the new Google TV service, with the official launch of its Revue set-top box and controller.
That’s three times the price of Apple TV, but the two services are very different in features and approach, with Google TV offering much tighter integration with existing TV channels. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
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