Blue&Me is an integrated in-vehicle infotainment system used worldwide on many vehicles marketed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) from model years 2006–2017. With the exception of the Ford Ka, which is a lightly modified Fiat 500, the system is exclusive to Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia cars and to Fiat Professional's light commercial vehicles (for example, Fiat ducato, as well as associated vehicles such as Peugeot Boxer and Citroën Jumper/relay) Developed over three years beginning in 2003 in partnership with CRF (Centro Ricerche FIAT), Magneti Marelli and Microsoft, and based on Windows Embedded Automotive, Blue&Me was formally launched in 2006 at the Geneva Auto Show. The system uses a paired Bluetooth-compatible phone to allow users to make hands-free telephone calls, control music, and other functions using voice commands and steering-wheel mounted controls. Development history Fiat and Microsoft first announced their partnership in July 2004, stating they would jointly "develop innovative telematics solutions for motorists" to "enable drivers to communicate effectively with the outside world." Magneti Marelli would manufacture the hardware, based on a reference design set by Microsoft and Fiat. The system was developed to be compatible with most mobile phones and media players. The new Blue&Me system debuted on the Alfa Romeo 159, Alfa Romeo Brera, and Fiat Grande Punto, which were shown at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. By 2007, Fiat were reporting that 20% of customers were requesting Blue&Me, and had announced an integrated navigation system, Blue&Me Nav. In 2012, Fiat rolled out the successor Uconnect 5.0 system, which was also powered by Windows Embedded Automotive. Uconnect 5.0 was developed by Continental Automotive Group and was first deployed in the Fiat 500L. Key features Initial features included Bluetooth and USB connectivity to mobile phones and personal media players. It also provided a hands-free system, allowing a user to control features by voice commands after alerting the system by depressing a button mounted on the steering wheel. Speech recognition and text-to-speech technology from Nuance Communications was used to support nine different languages, including Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. Blue&Me could recognize user voice commands to place calls, read SMS messages, and control media player functions. Because Blue&Me does not support A2DP, audio cannot be streamed directly to the system from a Bluetooth device; the media device must instead be connected via the USB port or a USB Bluetooth receiver supporting A2DP could be