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.

Gameloft posts new E3 trailer for Modern Combat 5: Blackout

After going nearly a year after its initial announcement without talking about the title, Gameloft is finally starting to open up about Modern Combat 5: Blackout. We've learned a number of new details about the game over the past couple of weeks, and today we have an epic new E3 trailer to share...

IGN names ‘Deus Ex: The Fall’ its Free Game of the Month

Great news gamers, IGN has named Square Enix's popular 'Deus Ex: The Fall' its Free Game of the Month for June. The game launched on iPhones and iPads last summer to many positive reviews, and it normally retails for $6.99.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Deus Ex: The Fall is an action-based role playing game, set in the cyberpunk world of 2027. It's well known for its console-quality graphics, advanced gameplay elements, and in-depth storyline...

Apple acquires location recommendation service Spotsetter

Apple has quietly acquired location-based recommendation service 'Spotsetter,' according to TechCrunch. The site doesn't offer any specifics on the deal, but does note that it's hearing that investors in the company are "happy, so to speak."

The buyout is said to be mainly about acquiring Spotsetter's technology, and the talent of the two founders—one of which is an ex-Google Maps engineer. LinkedIn profiles show that the pair, and much of their team, are now working at Apple...

US Apple Stores to begin offering prepaid and month-to-month iPhone plans

According to a new report from 9to5Mac, Apple is preparing to begin offering prepaid and month-to-month iPhone plans in its US retail stores. This will mark the first time in the US that customers will be able to go into an Apple Store, and walk out with a prepaid iPhone.

Customers will be able to purchase an iPhone at full retail, pick from a handful of prepaid or month-to-month plans offered by AT&T, T-Mobile and others, and have it activated in-store. The initiative is part of a larger effort by Apple to bolster non-subsidized iPhone sales...

Video tells visual history of iOS in less than 5 minutes

Earlier this week, Apple unveiled iOS 8 during its WWDC keynote event. The eighth iteration of the mobile operating system brings about a number of changes, and many folks are calling it the largest update ever for the popular platform.

With that in mind, the folks over at the Verge created a video that offers an overview of all of the iOS releases, going back to the original iPhone. It's less than 5 minutes long, and really shows how far things have come in the past 8 years...

Apple, Google and others pledge $2M to hold Super Bowl 50 in Bay Area

According to a new report from the San Jose Mercury News, Apple has joined Google and other tech companies who have pledged $2 million in cash and services to help offset taxpayer costs of hosting Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco.

The Bay Area Super Bowl Host committee announced that is has raised $40 million for the event, which will be held at the 49ers' newly-built Levi's Stadium in 2016. The venue is less than 15 miles away from Apple's Cupertino campus...

Square Enix Montreal announces upcoming title ‘Hitman: Sniper’

In April, Square Enix Montréal brought the popular stealth video game series Hitman to iOS with 'Hitman Go.' It was an odd release, in that it fell under the turn-based puzzler genre instead of action-adventure, but it still seemed to perform relatively well.

Folks who were hoping for a more traditional Hitman title, though, will be happy to hear that the Canadian firm has another one in the works. It's called 'Hitman: Sniper,' and it's a massively competitive sniping game with a focus on the subtlety of execution...

Hit game ‘Temple Run’ crosses one billion downloads

Raleigh, North Carolina-based gaming company Imangi Studios announced this week that its hit game Temple Run has crossed one billion downloads. The total is the combination of both the first and second releases of the endless runner.

Imangi notes in the press release that players have collectively spent over 216,018 years playing its Temple Run titles, which are available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. They've also played 32 billion games, and run 50 trillion meters...

New in iOS 8 Safari: use your device’s camera to scan in credit card info

As folks continue to comb through the recently released iOS 8 beta, a new feature has been discovered in mobile Safari. When the updated browser detects a credit card field within a webpage, it offers to let the user scan their card with their device's camera.

Scanning your credit card automatically enters its information in the appropriate text fields, saving you from having to enter it manually. It takes just a moment, and it doesn't appear that websites will have to do anything special to enable the new feature...

Tim Cook and Eddy Cue visit Apple’s new Austin campus

In late 2012, Apple began work on a major 39-acre campus in Austin, Texas. According to its development agreement, the grounds will house more than 1 million square feet of office space for various operations including human resources, finance and the like.

After completing phase one of the construction earlier this year, the campus held its opening celebration today. CEO Tim Cook was on hand for the event, offering up a recap of WWDC announcements and teasing that "exciting" new products are on the way...

Apple said to be working on master list of games that support MFi controllers

Apple is reportedly working on a way for its users to view a master list of games that support MFi (made for iPhone) controllers in the App Store. The feature works a lot like App Match, which can point users to compatible apps of recently attached accessories.

The company first introduced the MFi controller specification in iOS 7 last summer, and a number of third-party accessory makers have since created gamepads. The new platform, however, has been hobbled by the lack of user knowledge of compatible iOS titles...

Apple offering limited time pricing on refurbished iPads

Folks in the market for an iPad may want to check out the refurbished section of Apple's online store. The company is currently hosting some sort of sale on its tablets, with several models showing 'Special Limited Time' pricing.

The deals start with the first generation iPad mini (16GB, Wi-Fi only), which has been discounted down to $219, and go all the way up to the iPad Air. You can get a refurbished 64GB Air, with built-in cellular support, for $699...