I just got the 880 from Dell today (their 2-day $129 offer). I'd tried it at Bestbuy before and thought it was alright, but having played with it now, I think it's awful. To start... they got rid of picture and sound buttons. Why?! To put the functions into each activity on the screen? Or to navigate through each device's menu? They had these all through the 600 series... why would they drop them? The buttons just feel so weird... all skinny and mishapen with strange protrusions and odd feels. There is no way you're going to run this remote by feel alone in the dark of a theater - the transport and number buttons all feel the same and the slender crevice between them is easily missed.

This one is going back (unless someone wants to buy it?) and I think I'll pick up the 670 instead. It looks a lot more like a remote than trendy foreign art and if it's anything even remotely (pun intended) built like the 659 (which is, unfortunately, not very handy for today's devices - pvr's, etc.), it'll be a performer.

I vote too for adding the RGYB buttons (while keeping pic and sound, please!) - I've got them softlinked into the screen menu, but having hard buttons would be the best!

Nobody ever explained why they removed picture and sound. But they put them back on the 670 so I guess they've learned their lesson.

May I suggest you take a look at the Monster AV100. If you are looking for PRICE then ignore this. The AV100 will cost you at least $250. BUT, it addresses most of your complaints, especially the part about using it in the dark. Read my review on the Monster and see if it may make sense to you. Good Luck!

It would have made more sense to me if you compared the Monster AV-100 with the Harmony 720.

The most difficult thing I'm finding with the 885 is that the transport keys are in the wrong order, but like everything else after a while one gets used to it. I'd imagine it would be hard to use with old or larger hands though, my folks have an MX-700 for that very reason.

I don't understand your response. The Monster AV100 is most comparable to the 880 Pro NOT the 720. The only thing the Monster has in common with the 720 is shape, since it does not have the curved configuration of the 880, but it is functionally the same as the Harmony 880 Pro but with a more intuitive layout and joystick that for a DVR user can actually free up nearby keys for other uses.