Fiat Upgrades Blue&Me Media Player Adaptor

Italian automaker Fiat has announced that it has upgraded its Blue&Me system, with a free of charge software update available for download. Blue&Me is the infotainment system based on the Windows Mobile for Automotive platform, offering Bluetooth connectivity, USB and a voice-controlled hands-free telephone kit, developed jointly by Fiat Auto and Microsoft.

The new software update offers improved functionality and enable greater compatibility with an increasing number of mobiles phones. With this upgrade Fiat wanted to allow more Blue&Me users to make calls via their Bluetooth enabled mobile phone or listening to their favorite music downloaded on the USB drive or the portable media player.

Similar infotainment systems are usually reserved for more high-end luxury cars, but the Italian carmaker announced that Blue&Me is now available as standard on most Fiat cars.

Fiat owners can discover more about the new development and access the free-to-download software (version 5.4) from here, while the iPod and iPhone adaptor costs £71,66 ($117,50).

In addition, Fiat has also launched a new media player adaptor which has been developed to allow use of iPod and iPhone products through Blue&Me without changing the original format to MP3. The unit will only work on cars updated with the new version 5.4 software.

However, Fiat advises users to first check if their phone is compatible with the new update and informs them that if they are using the Eco:Drive application they will need to re-install it on the car after the software update. Moreover, once the update is performed, they can no longer return to the previous version.