One of the things we really like about some of the world's largest consumer-electronics manufacturers is the fact that they've started to coordinate efforts across their numerous divisions, thus being able to provide customers with an unitary user experience, regardless of the nature of the products they're handling. And one of the best examples of such a forward-thinking company is Sony, who's quite active in bringing together its various branches and products.

One of the best examples is the XMB (Xross Media Bar), an user interface that's starting to become the norm in the case of other Sony products, not just its PS3 (which, however, remains the product that benefits the most from this very friendly UI). And we haven't mentioned the PS3 just in order to make a point, but because the Japanese company's gaming console is exactly the subject of this article.

So, given the fact that quite a large number of users who own a PS3 also own a Sony Vaio notebook PC, Sony has decided to offer them a little surprise, enabling the latter to be used as a wireless Bluetooth keyboard for the former. Carrying out this task is done in a very easy manner, requiring very little effort from the user, as you'll be able to see for yourselves as follows.

Pre-requisites

The only things you'll need to get going are a PS3 gaming console updated to the latest firmware versions, as well as a Bluetooth-enabled Vaio Notebook PC featuring the Remote Keyboard with PlayStation 3 software. In the case of the more recent models, this software comes pre-installed, but if that's not the case, you can easily download it from Sony's support website. Oh, and another thing, you'll need Windows 7 in order to properly run this application.

Anyway, the Vaio model (P, 2010 version) we used for testing the remote keyboard function was pre-loaded with the aforementioned software application, so we skipped the installation process altogether. However, this shouldn't be too complicated, and neither are the following steps. And as a bonus, once you've gone through the registering process once, you won't need to do it again each time you connect the Vaio to the PS3.

Connecting the Vaio P to the PlayStation 3

Step 1 – Switch both devices on.

Step 2 – On the Vaio Notebook, from the Start Menu, select the PS3 Tools folder and start up the “Remote Keyboard with PlayStation 3” application.

Step 3 – Press Next in the application, then search for a PS3 or connect to a previously found console.

Step 4 – Once you've selected the console, click Next again, and the software will prompt you to enter a registration (pairing) code.

Step 5 – In the PS3's XMB Main Menu, go to Settings.

Step 6 – In the Settings menu, go to Accessory Settings, then select the Manage Bluetooth Devices option.

Step 7 – From this menu, start the registration process for a new Bluetooth device.

Step 8 – After completing the scanning process, the PS3 will identify the Vaio notebook PC as a Bluetooth accessory, and will provide you with a code for finishing the pairing process.

Step 9 – Enter the code shown on the TV's display in the application running on the Vaio notebook.

Step 10 – Registration is complete. You can no start using the Vaio as a wireless keyboard/mouse combo for the PS3.

What's the point of going through all the trouble

If you've imagined for a second that, after completing the pairing process, you'd be able to use the keyboard and mouse as gaming controllers, you'll certainly be disappointed, because that's not going to happen. Another disappointment is related to the fact that, while the connection with the PS3 is active, you won't be able to use the Vaio P's touchpad/keyboard, these vital inputs being disabled and their functionality transfered to the PS3.

However, you'll be able to browse through the XMB a lot faster with the help of the touchpad (or even if you've got a mouse attached to the Vaio notebook, that will work as well), while the keyboard will make typing-in text in the search bar a whole lot easier. Plus, if you've already got a Vaio notebook, why not benefit from this (completely free) perk Sony's offering? As you've seen before, this will take only a few minutes, and the benefits are quite noteworthy.