After a long wait, I finally got my hands on a NEEO remote. Having spent a few days "kicking the tires", I thought I would put together a review in case you're trying to decide if this is the right remote for you.

he clean design and vivid touchscreen give the NEEO a modern, distinguished look not common to handheld remotes. Combine that with a sturdy, yet lightweight, handfeel, and you have a remote that is an absolute joy to use. The app-based setup is a breeze. Control of IR devices is snappy, even when issuing multiple commands in rapid succession, and the IR coverage from the "brain's" built-in blaster is very impressive.

At $369 for the remote and brain, the NEEO has raised the bar significantly for this category. As a former professional integrator, I can say that a remote of this quality could have easily set you back $1,000 or more not long ago (and that may or may not have included paying a programmer to set it up for you). If you are in the market for a DIY programmable remote, the NEEO undoubtedly deserves a spot on your short list.

As far as cons, I have found very few, and none that give me any pause about the remote's overall quality. Before itemizing them, it is important to note that, at the time of this writing, I am using a beta version of the software (v0.46.5). Of the areas I would like to see improvement, the most notable is a very slight lag on the touchscreen when swiping sideways to go from one page to another.

I have also found some inconsistencies in the implementation of the DirecTV IR commands I am using. For instance, the "List" command is called "Recordings" on the touchscreen remote, but is a folder with the "Play" symbol on the app. The "Exit" command does not exist either as a hard button, or as a command on the default app and touchscreen pages for DirecTV. Instead, you have to use "Back" which often results in multiple button presses to clear menus off the screen versus a true "Exit" command, which would do it in one press. As a workaround for this, you can set up "Exit" as a shortcut, but more on that later.

Lastly, when using DirecTV, the "Menu" hard button actually performs the "Guide" function. Incidentally, I actually prefer it this way and hope they don't change it as I like having hard button access to the guide. Perhaps, in time, NEEO will allow the user to do custom mapping of hard button commands, but for now I do not see this ability anywhere. In any event, these are nothing more than minor housekeeping issues in the UI and I suspect will be cleaned up in short order.

*A Small Disclaimer*

At the time of this writing, I have only tested the remote on a very simple entertainment center, controlling a handful of IR devices. I have not had a chance to test the advanced features the remote offers such as Z-Wave integration and network control. We are hoping to post more information on these features soon. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our show on iTunes for more updates as they become available.

Unboxing

For those who appreciate such things, NEEO very clearly cut no corners when it comes to presentation. The packaging is impressive, creating a great first impression. Won't belabor this, it's just packaging after all. But kudos are definitely in order. Check out the short unboxing video at the end of this post if you want to see more.