Which remote for you has the best button layout - one that you can operate with one hand/thumb in the dark without even looking at it?

MX-500 always worked for me.

But I'm looking for something new.

Step one: LCD screen or no LCD screen
Step two: If LCD, touch screen or non-touch screen
Step three: IR or RF or both?
Step four : What is my budget?

That will round you down to the best choices.

LCD screen optional.
Non-touch screen.
RF not required (but considered)
Budget - <$400

I actually had the MX-900 briefly, but found the button layout to be more difficult to navigate in the dark than the MX-500. Maybe it's because the 500's main buttons all circle the center selector wheel, so they're all easily accessible and instantly recognizable in the dark.

I'm thinking maybe the MX-880 - that seems to have very logical button placement.

Yes, that's probably a good choice... the R50/MX-450 is fairly easy to distinguish, although I'm not fond of how some of the transport control buttons came out.

I've noticed with the growing need for more buttons on remotes, all while not increasing the actual size of the remote, buttons are getting more and more... similar in shape. The MX-900 is a good example of that - lots of identical buttons. Fortunantly they offset the Stop and Pause keys from everything else, but I still find myself hitting Fast Forward when I wanted Skip.

Well, I bought the 880. We'll see how that works out.

Thanks