Blue&Me - Podcasts

Started by alfagtv58, August 21, 2013, 02:47:32 PM

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alfagtv58

I need some advice from anyone who knows the Blue&Me system.....I have just bought an '09 159.  I often listen to podcasts through my iPhone5.  Can the Blue&Me handle this via bluetooth?  Will I need an adaptor for the USB port in glovebox?  Or should I just start loading my podcasts onto a dedicated USB stick?
1967 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce - (WIP) Strada
1977 Alfetta GTV Group S - Corsa - For Sale (http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,9600.0.html)
2009 159 JTS Ti

Stuart Thomson

Hi Phil,

AFAIK the '09 B&M won't stream across the bluetooth.  A cheapie USB stick in the glovebox would be the way to go.

Blue & Me and Apple products sometimes don't play well together (go figure, Apple V Microsoft), for instance, none of our iPods, iPhones etc play music in the 159 using the USB port.  The Mito B&M at least plays music from the iPhones etc, but flatly refuses to read the text messages, a "feature" of the new B&M.  This isn't entirely Microsoft's fault as the problem lies in the implementation of iMessage, which B&M doesn't recognise as a text messaging app.

Cheers
Stu

alfagtv58

Thanks Stu, I paired the phone last night no problems, I really like the speech function.  I put a couple of podcasts on a USB last night and listed on the way to work this morning, works fine, the only problem is when I want to listen to the same podcast elsewhere (in the garage for example) I have to try to find where I am up to on the Apple device......1st world problems.
1967 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce - (WIP) Strada
1977 Alfetta GTV Group S - Corsa - For Sale (http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,9600.0.html)
2009 159 JTS Ti

oz3litre

You can buy a USB dongle on Ebay from the UK that will allow you to play and charge the iPhone through the B&M system. It is an official Fiat part. You can buy it from an Alfa dealer, but they will charge you twice as much. I bought one for our 2008 159 and it works perfectly, including using the steering wheel controls. I haven't tried podcasts though. I also bought a dongle for my GT that does the same thing, but plugs into the back of the radio in place of the CD changer.
2010 159 ti TBI. Red. Wife's daily driver.
2013 Giulietta Sportiva 1.4 MA. Anthracite Metalic  My daily driver.
2009 Mito Sport 1.4 TBI. Red. Daughter's daily driver.
1999 GTV V6. Black. Son's daily driver.

alfagtv58

Thanks, I had spotted those dongles, good to hear from someone who has used them that they work!
1967 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce - (WIP) Strada
1977 Alfetta GTV Group S - Corsa - For Sale (http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,9600.0.html)
2009 159 JTS Ti

Doug Gould

Bin the Blue & Me and put a modern system in. Plenty on ebay. Blue & Me was never much good.
08 159 JTS
07 Brera
85 GTV6
72 Montreal
65 2600 Sprint
60 VW Beetle

oz3litre

Quote from: Doug Gould on October 22, 2013, 06:26:16 PM
Bin the Blue & Me and put a modern system in. Plenty on ebay. Blue & Me was never much good.
Yes, expecting Microsoft to make something that works was a bit naive of Fiat. Still, with the dongle it is OK. The bluetooth phone side of it works OK with iPhones without the dongle.
2010 159 ti TBI. Red. Wife's daily driver.
2013 Giulietta Sportiva 1.4 MA. Anthracite Metalic  My daily driver.
2009 Mito Sport 1.4 TBI. Red. Daughter's daily driver.
1999 GTV V6. Black. Son's daily driver.

MattC

Quote from: oz3litre on October 19, 2013, 11:23:29 AM
You can buy a USB dongle on Ebay from the UK that will allow you to play and charge the iPhone through the B&M system. It is an official Fiat part. You can buy it from an Alfa dealer, but they will charge you twice as much. I bought one for our 2008 159 and it works perfectly, including using the steering wheel controls. I haven't tried podcasts though. I also bought a dongle for my GT that does the same thing, but plugs into the back of the radio in place of the CD changer.

I listen to podcasts through my iPhone all the time in the car.  The only time it doesn't work is when the system generally doesn't believe I plugged the phone in.