Well you realize you've entered a den of 15-1994 fanatics, don't you? Most of us prefer tactile buttons to a touch screen, though, so the optimizations we would make to the 15-1994 are quite small.
The 15-1994 is a good bargain (when on sale) compared to other remotes, but there's still a lot of profit priced into it. The technology in a remote is pretty simple, the parts cost is low; these are probably built for a buck or two. There is virtually no difference between a 4 device remote and a 7 device remote, yet it gives them a tiered pricing structure. Learning adds a little cost, backlighting adds a little cost. Factory upgrade support adds alot of cost to some of the higher priced remotes, like the URC-8xxx. Many people favor the 15-1994 over their $400 Prontos.