In the past Philip’s line of Pronto remotes have been excessively expensive ($1000+ depending on the model) and complicated to program and manage.  For the true home theater techie this was the remote of choice.  Perhaps rethinking their consumer acquisition strategy, at least in the remote market, Philips has plans to release a new remote sometime this March that is just $150, controls just 8 components, and incorporates the use of an LCD screen to show only relevant buttons.  From the looks of it the SRU9600 will also include an iPod like wheel for navigation of the remote’s menu and the programmed components.

Philips Inexpensive LCD Remote: SRU9600 [Ubergizmo]