I mananged to find a Walmart that had these in stock, thanks to tkrug's link. I have to say that I'm not sure who decides which Walmart's will stock this remote, but this particular store would not be on my list.
I had hoped to try it out last night, but real life got in the way. With the weekend coming up I hope to give it a try and will report back here if I find out anything that hasn't already been reported on.

I found some fairly serious issues with the 520.

Just posted a fairly quick rundown of what I like and don't like about it

here: [Link: remotecentral.com]

- Chris

I have the SA8300HD cable box/PVR and this uses A/B/C keys. The fact that there is only 4 LCD buttons and no dedicated page up/page down buttons I'm afraid this baby just won't do it for me. I'll just have to wait on this one [Link: remoteshoppe.com]

Many many of us use the 659 with the SA 8300 and are perfectly happy (as the SA boxes don't have >>| and |<< keys). The 680 and 676 also represent very good choices for this cable box as well. The 6 LCD buttons are absoutely necessary to get the A, B, and C keys into a good location down the left side and depending on which remote you have, other keys down the right.

Unless you're looking for the bling of an 880, the 6XX's still seem to represent the best bang for the buck for anyone who needs to navigate a program guide. The 520 just has too few buttons, I think about the same as a 768 but without the 768's extreme flexibility with contextual button layouts.

I don't see A/B/C or Pg Up/Dn buttons on the HK one either ... It just has a color screen and rechargeable batts.

No, but with 8 LCD buttons it does have enough room to add A,B,C down the RH side and page up/down on the left (plus three more).

No Harmony (or other universal) remote is perfect for the Scientific Atlanta cable boxes, but any Harmony with less than 6 LCD buttons is pretty much unusuable. So far, that's only the 520 and the 768.

However, Smart-state technology is definitely a lifesaver for the SA boxes as none of them have discrete power codes - which IMO makes the Harmony's still one of the best options for integrating a SA box into an A/V system - just not the 520.

I was finally able to locate this remote today. I bought it with the expectation that I would return the 880 that I am using now and make this my primary remote. It has not disappointed me. Given the rather simple nature of my theater setup, this is perfect.

I was concerned that the symbols on the rubberized buttons would wear off (my TiVo remote is blank), but the way they are constructed (two parts), that won't happen. I am more concerned about the silver finish of the 520. It is clearly painted on, and I don't expect that it will hold up very well over time. The screen isn't bad, and I like it much better then the one on the 659 and 676 I used to have. My 23 year old eyes (today is my birthday) have no problem making out what is listed on screen.

The backlighting is WAY too dark for me, though. It can barely be considered blue anymore... more like a purple. After the 880, the remote doesn't feel natural in my hand, and the buttons require abnormally hard presses to register (perhaps it will loosen up over time), but for the price ($98), I can't complain. The 880 is better, more naturally shaped, but it isn't $149 better.

I have the Harmony 659 and I love it. I was thinking of the 520 but unless I am wrong, I have a problem with the fact that the 520 has only 4 buttons that you can program. I love that I can program 6 on the 659, for my Cable Box, DVR I use the first screen for A,B,C down the left, DVR, PGUP, PGDN down the right. I use these buttons a lot and do not want to use the next key to get another set. Am I right? Are there only 4 on the 520. If so, I will skip this one.
MIF.

Yep.

Gotta play with it more.....also check for a manual on the CD.

In the meantime, a quick few comments and questions.

Comments.

1. Looks very attractive. Much classier than any of my other remotes.
2. Dead simple to set up (at least the basic set up.)
3. Buttons are a mixed bag. Rubber number buttons have a bit too long of a throw. Hard plastic buttons for volume and channel have opposite problem...short throw...very quiet click...not very tactile.
4. Wife factor is 9+. She liked the looks and the function of one button on/off (we used to have the same thing with the MX500 till we got new equipment not in it's database.) Of course, she is particularly enamored by it because the up/down channel button stopped working on our PVR. She is very excited to have that surfing function back.
5. Screen and button lights a bit dim....would prefer white backlight or darker LCD.

Now the questions.

1. Is there a way to program more than the 4 buttons...in other words, can I flip through the screens on the LCD? The MX500 was very nice this way.
2. Anyone set one up for the MediaCenter PC? The silly thing is asking me for a manufacturer and a model number. It should not matter. I just want to control Microsoft's Media Center as a replacement for Microsoft's remote (replace the MS remote.) Perhaps I should just go on the web and look up a Media Center PC model that uses the Microsoft remote (like a Dell or HP.)

1. You can have an essentially unlimited number of buttons in each activity - just change the behavior of buttons in the activity setup and you can add as many as you want and page through them. The same goes for more than activities. (Unless there's something new and unique on the 520, which I doubt.)

2. Have you tried putting in Microsoft as the manufacturer. O/w just email Harmony support - they should answer at some point on Monday.

Hmm, now thinking about something else. My previous post mentioned how much I liked having 6 keys to program, because I liked having A,B,C, DVR and page up and page down. I wonder, can you program the main Channel +/- keys to do page up and down and then use the up and down arrows for single jumps? This might work out nicely if it can be done, with putting ABC,DVR in the 4 keys on the top.
MIF.

Actually, the 520 has a motion sensor and a button. You can hear the motion sensor moving and it definitely turns it on when you pick it up. However, it only works if the remote has been sitting for some period of time. That is probably to keep it from turning on everytime you move it while channel surfing.

How long do you have to leave it before the motion sensor turns on the light? Mine doesn't seem to work. Do I have to do anything special to activate that feature?

With my OFA JP1, I can set the CH+ and CH- to do the page up and page down. Can we do that with an Harmony ?....assign any fonction to the button we want.