I like the touchscreen remotes. I don't like paying more for a remote than I do 75% of the components it would control.
Ebay is your friend. I buy ProntoNEO remotes regularly off of ebay for ~$20-40, often they are "broken" and need a bit of TLC, but for the most part, ppl buy them and don't ever program them and want to get rid of them for something.
Right now however, there are only fairly high priced (xmas markup?) NEO's. The JP1 is a great hard button alternative though.
I dislike touchscreen remotes. Why would I want to do with two hands what I can already do with one hand for a fraction of the price?
I agree, that's why prono NEO's are a good alternative. Touchscreen for advanced functionality, but a good set of hard buttons for standard stuff (ch+, ch-, vol+, vol-, up, down, left, right, ok) that you can operate with one hand in the dark. Also, if you program all remotes with the same layout, you can even operate a touchscreen with one hand.
You will NEVER have the same level of advanced control with a hard button only remote than with a touchscreen. Show me a hard button remote that you can hand to a visitor in your house that they can figure out how to use without a manual....
Just my $0.02
