I tend to hold the Sony remote at the base. In this position the Volume up/down and Channel up/down buttons are right there. Most other bottons are reachable with my thumb from this position. The only ones I would have to re-adjust my grip to use are the number pad, power buttons, and mute buttons. This remote is impossible to hold the wrong way when not looking.

On the other hand, I operated the new-style peanut remote upside down twice last night. Granted, the peanut is in my bedroom where it's usually dark and the Sony is in the living room, but it wasn't designed for proper ergonomics. Like I said, the new style peanut is better but not by much.