Cody Lee

Cody Lee, iDownloadBlog.com’s longest-serving Editor, joined the site in 2008. He specializes in uncovering the best deals on Apple products, apps, and accessories. With years of experience in technology journalism, Cody helps readers save money while staying informed about the latest trends and updates in the Apple ecosystem. Cody’s history with smartphones goes almost as far back as he does. As the son of a Nokia employee, he was exposed early on to handsets like the N91 and the Communicator. He has since been involved in nearly every aspect of the mobile phone industry. While going to college, he worked at a Nokia factory, building handsets, and later moved on to a sales position at a major wireless carrier.

FCC questions Verizon’s plan to throttle select data customers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Last week Verizon announced a new 'network optimization' initiative to start throttling data users. Beginning in October, the carrier is going to start slowing the speeds of the top 5% of its unlimited LTE customers when they're connected to a busy cell site.

Obviously, VZW subscribers weren't very happy with the news, and apparently neither was the FCC. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler sent a letter to Verizon today saying that he was "deeply troubled" by its new throttling plans...

‘Modbook Pro X’ turns your 15-inch Retina MacBook into a powerful tablet

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2014

Folks longing for a more powerful Apple tablet may want to checkout the new Pro X project from long-time MacBook-modifier Modbook. The company has taken to Kickstarter to market its latest creation—a 15.4" quad-core tablet with Retina display that runs Mac OS X.

The Modbook Pro X will be available in a number of configurations, based on the new Retina MacBook Pros Apple unveiled just this week. Packages can include a processor as fast as Intel's 2.8GHz Haswell chip, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 2 terabytes of flash storage...

AgileBits shows off iOS 8 app extension feature for 1Password

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2014

The folks over at AgileBits are all over the new developer tools Apple introduced in iOS 8. Last month they previewed Touch ID support for their popular 1Password app, and today they posted a video showing off a new app extension feature.

Among the many new features announced for iOS 8 is one called app extensions, which allows developers to make some functions of their apps available in other apps via Share Sheets. And 1Password will take advantage of this in a big way...

Russia asks Apple for source code to alleviate espionage concerns

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Russia's Ministry of Communications and Mass Media has suggested that Apple, along with German tech giant SAP, open the source code for its software to ensure that it's not enabling US intelligence agencies to spy on the country.

The request comes just a week after a security researcher accused Apple of building surveillance backdoors into iOS, and as the United States and Europe expand their sanctions on Moscow over Russia's involvement in Ukraine affairs...

‘Sense’ takes sleep tracking to a whole new level

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2014

Technology has really pushed its way into our lives these past few years, moving beyond smartphones to fitness, and even sleep-tracking accessories. FitBit's Flex, Jawbone's UP and several other wearables are able to record and analyze your sleep patterns.

But the new 'Sense,' from Hello promises to do much more than that. In addition to tracking your sleep behavior, that glowing ball you see in the photo above has the ability to monitor things like noise and temperature, and can even play ambient sounds...

Apple updates Retina MacBook Pros with faster processors, more memory

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2014

As expected, Apple has refreshed its family of MacBook Pro with Retina display laptops this morning. The updates add faster processors and more memory, and come just after the launch of the company's annual back-to-school promotion.

There are three new 13-inch models and two new 15-inch notebooks, all of which have received the latest versions of Intel's i5 and i7 Haswell processors. In terms of additional memory, Apple has doubled the entry-level RAM for both lines...

Yelp app updated with new video review feature

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2014

Yelp posted an update for its mobile app yesterday that's been garnering quite a bit of buzz in the tech community. The update, which brings the client to version 8.1, adds a new feature that enables users to post and view video reviews.

Using your iPhone, you can now take 3-12 second videos of your experiences at your favorite bar or business and post them to Yelp via the mobile app. You can also view videos in-app, giving you a better idea of a place's atmosphere...

Apple drops permanent injunction quest in Samsung lawsuit

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2014

Apple filed a motion with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in California yesterday, dropping its cross-appeal of Judge Lucy Koh's final judgement in its lawsuit against Samsung. The motion officially ends the company's pursuit of a product ban.

Now, this is just for the 2012 trial, not the one that ended in May. Apple had been looking to win a permanent injunction against all of Samsung's infringing devices in that case, and filed multiple appeals, but it appears to have given up on this particular battle...

Activator receives major update with new icons, developer APIs and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Popular jailbreak tweak Activator has been updated today, bringing the package to version 1.9. Developer Ryan Petrich says that this is the "largest release" for the tweak in over a year, as it brings about many new features and enhancements.

We've posted the lengthy change log down below, but just to give you an idea of what to expect, Activator 1.9 includes several new icons, new developer APIs and custom actions. It also offers a number of bug fixes and various other improvements...

NPR launches new curated news radio app ‘NPR One’

Cody Lee ∙ July 28, 2014

NPR launched a new mobile application today which aims to make news radio more tailored and accessible. It's called NPR One, and it curates a mix of NPR radio segments and news articles based on your location and interests.

Now, this won't replace NPR's existing mobile apps, which allow you to listen to nationally syndicated programs and local programming. But what it does do is provide a simple way to listen to relevant, public news radio streams...

Facebook disabling messaging in main mobile app, forcing users into Messenger

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

It appears that folks using Facebook's Messenger service will soon have to download the standalone app, or look at other messaging options. Over the next few days, the social network is going to disable messaging from its main iPhone and Android apps.

The move is an attempt to push users over to Facebook Messenger, which the company says will have several benefits. For one it will enable it to streamline the mobile chat experience, and two, Facebook says users respond faster when using Messenger...

Telltale confirms third season of ‘The Walking Dead’

Cody Lee ∙ July 27, 2014

Folks worried that the final episode of The Walking Dead: Season Two will be the end of the series can rest easy. Developer Telltale Games has confirmed this weekend that the story of the dead will live on in season 3.

The studio made the announcement yesterday at Comic-Con, during a panel hosted by Skybound Entertainment. It publishes The Walking Dead comics, of which both the game and the popular television show are based...