You might remember when I first got the Fiat that I did a certain amount of mumbling and grumbling about how the bluetooth system had been designed by someone not very intelligent (oh wait, that would be Microsoft) and that the USB connection took over the iPhone completely when connected, not allowing me to access anything music or otherwise: a totally blank grey screen.

So for a long time, it was just Siri and me and an audio cable. Siri, I’d say, shuffle the FOLK playlist. Playing Folk playlist, shuffled, she’d reply and we’d drive along quite happily. The only downside of this was that if my phone needed charging, there was enough noise generated by the car charger that I found listening to anything unpleasant. So it was power or music, not both.

The other night I needed power and I wondered again about the USB port in the glove box. I wondered if I could charge my phone that way and maybe listen to the radio, so I plugged it in. No grey screen. Hmmm. I’d been listening to the new Gaiman book previously and as I plugged in the headphone jack, it started coming through the speakers. What? I slid open the lock screen and there was my whole iPhone available.

Turns out I didn’t need the audio cable because… it was playing through the USB connection. What? Sometimes it starts playing the first song in the song listings – Abbott’s Bromley and then switches over to what I had last been playing…

Oh, and it even displays the title of what’s playing on the radio screen… What?

I don’t get it, but I’m not arguing because this is WAY better than it was a year and some months ago. And I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Neil Gaiman tell me about the mysterious happenings in a seven year old boy’s life as I drive around, so I’m quite happy.