I own the Sony as well as the Marantz. I agree in every single point with the judgement from Spec.
The most annoying thing on this remote is the incredible bad low contrast LCD Panel. It's actually unreadable under any other circumstance than backlight full on. On top of that teaching it commands via other remotes (not those via number code) is for many brands impossible (e.g. Philipps TV, try simple things like change channels or input selector).

Additionally, the usefullness is very limited, because the buttom names can not be re-assigned. How to set up the different sound fields for a Dolby surround system?

I admit it's easy to understand and use. That's why my wife likes it. But if I want to use my system actually, forget the Sony. This thing is overpriced in this regards, that one can get a very cheap universal remote with the same basic functions for less than $50.