Steve Ballmer and Alan Mulally on stage at CES today (TechFlash photo).

LAS VEGAS --  Seattle's technological fingerprints are all over the next version of Ford Sync.

It's not just because of Microsoft, although the Redmond company has a lot to do with it. Microsoft's automotive unit has provided the underlying technology for Ford's in-car communication and entertainment system since its launch.

The next Sync will also incorporate technologies and systems from Seattle-based Airbiquity and Kirkland-based Inrix, a Microsoft spinoff. There are clues that Bellevue-based Bsquare will be involved. And Microsoft's Tellme is playing a role, although that subsidiary is technically in California.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally unveiled the latest Sync technology Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show. The upgrade will add new features including personalized news updates, traffic reports and turn-by-turn directions using the car's audio system and radio display. The system, which works in conjunction with mobile phones, currently focuses on hands-free calling and media control.

The upgraded version of Sync will be available on most 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, Ford said in a news release. The auto maker is citing Sync as evidence that it's overhauling its approach to the market, positioning itself for a turnaround.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer appeared on stage with Mulally to mark the second anniversary of Sync's unveiling. Later, an on-stage demo of the new Sync technology was fittingly set in Seattle, with the driver being routed around the region's roadways and getting directions to the Metropolitan Grill restaurant.

Mulally, the former Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief, is yet another Seattle link. Ford's partnership with Microsoft for Sync was already in the works when Mulally joined the auto maker, so his role there doesn't account for all the Seattle connections. When he was talking with reporters after today's CES presentation, Mulally laughed when I asked what was up with all of Sync's Seattle ties.

"Boeing had a great relationship with Microsoft, and when I arrived (at Ford) and found out we were thinking about this, I said, 'You got two titans ready to go together," Mulally said. "It's been a great relationship."

But it's not just the titans involved. Under the new system, Tellme’s voice technology hears requests from the driver and connects them to the other pieces of the Sync network. Inrix is providing traffic, directions, maps and alerting services. Airbiquity’s data-over-voice technology is used to download the turn-by-turn information. Sync also uses Airbiquity technology to download and upload vehicle health reports.

Bsquare is also involved in the next generation Sync, according to the Seattle Times’ Ben Romano, although the Bellevue company isn’t disclosing details.

Financial terms of the various partnerships weren’t disclosed. Airbiquity’s Ford deal is “very big” for the Seattle company, helping it to make the transition into a managed data service provider, said David Jumpa, Airbiquity’s senior vice president of global business development.

Inrix has been working on the Ford technology for a year-and-a-half, said Bryan Mistele, its chief executive, a former Microsoft and Ford employee whose father-in-law and great-great grandfather also worked at the auto maker. One of the new features Inrix is adding to Sync is advanced routing that uses predictive technology to see how traffic will evolve over the course of a commute.

The Ford deal “basically takes us to the next level,” Mistele said.

TOMORROW ON TECHFLASH: See the next Ford Sync in action in a video demonstration.