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.

Jony Ive talks design, Steve Jobs, iWatch rumors and more in new interview

Cody Lee ∙ March 17, 2014

The typically quiet Jony Ive participated in a new interview which surfaced online yesterday. The Sunday Times was able to sit down with Apple's world-renowned designer for a lengthy discussion on a wide range of topics as part of its 'Makers of the 21st Century' series.

As usual, we've highlighted a few of our favorite parts from the article, but I'll go ahead and tell you right now, the entire thing is worth reading. It's very well written, covers a wide range of topics, (5 pages worth) from rumors to copycats, and Jony Ive is surprisingly candid...

Geohot wins $150,000 for exposing ChromeOS exploits

Cody Lee ∙ March 15, 2014

Google held its Pwnium 4 security competition last week at CanSecWest in Vancouver, Canada. The day-long event ended with hundreds of thousands of dollars being awarded to hackers who demonstrated exploits in Google Chrome. And believe it or not, $150,000 of that went to Geohot.

For those not familiar with the name, Geohot has picked up a number of headlines over the past 7 years. After hacking the iPhone he took his talents to the PS3, where he caused enough chaos to get sued by Sony. And he's since been spotted at Facebook, iOSDevCamp and various other places...

Rovio teases new Tiny Thief episode ‘Bewitched’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

It seems like Rovio has been 'teasing' a lot of things lately. There's its upcoming RPG 'Angry Birds Epic,' and then 'Angry Birds Stella,' which is coming this fall. But what about for the folks who aren't a fan of the furry fowl-flinging franchise? Two words: Tiny Thief.

That's right, the Finnish developer has posted a teaser trailer for a new episode of its popular puzzler this weekend. The episode is entitled 'Bewitched,' and as you'd imagine it has a Halloween-kind of vibe with witches flying on brooms and—well, just watch the clip...

Auto manufacturers say aftermarket CarPlay support will be difficult

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

The hope that older vehicles and aftermarket products will eventually support Apple's new CarPlay system took a bit of a blow yesterday. How-to website AppleToolbox spoke with reps from both Volvo and Ferrari, and both made it sound like it's going to be extremely difficult to do.

In fact, Ferrari has dismissed the possibility all together, saying that CarPlay "is available only on new range cars and cannot be installed on older ones." Volvo, on the other hand, hasn't ruled it out yet, but admits those adding aftermarket CarPlay support will face "major roadblocks."

Apple extends iPhone 5c ad push to Rolling Stone magazine

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Continuing with its advertising push for the iPhone 5c, Apple has taken out a high-profile ad in this month's issue of Rolling Stone. The print ad, which resembles the art we have seen in online spots, can be found on the back cover of the magazine.

Earlier today we noted that Apple had launched a rather aggressive campaign for the handset, which it launched last fall. In the past few weeks, animated 5c ads have popped up on expensive real estate, including Yahoo.com and NYTimes.com...

Both Apple Store apps updated with various improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Apple has pushed a pair of tiny updates to its two Apple Store clients (iPhone and iPad versions are separate downloads) this afternoon. The updates bring the two apps to version 2.9.2 and 1.1.1 respectively, and include various improvements.

On the iPhone side, Apple has improved notifications for folks using the app in retail stores—users can now view notifications from within the app and on the Lock screen. And as for the iPad, Apple has added the ability to gift card purchases...

Apple offering refurbished iPad Airs starting at $419

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 9, 2017

Folks in the market for an iPad Air will be happy to hear that Apple is now offering refurbished versions of the late-model tablet in its web store. You can find them in the 'Refurbished and Clearance' section listed at the bottom of Apple's online store landing page.

It looks like both 16GB and 32GB [Wi-Fi only] iPad Airs are available, in either Space Grey or White, with 3-5 day shipping estimates. And with the 16GB models starting at just $419—these are some of the lowest price we've seen on these tablets in recent months...

Apple has reportedly put its ‘iPad Pro’ project on hold

Cody Lee ∙ March 14, 2014

Folks looking forward to Apple's rumored 13-inch tablet may want to pick something else to pine over for a while. According to a new report, the Cupertino company has shelved its so-called 'iPad Pro' project due to various developmental issues.

Citing supply chain and channel inventory sources, Digitimes is reporting today that multiple vendors are running into problems producing larger tablets. The biggest hurdle seems to be a lack of support from platform developers and ecosystems...

Apple launches new ‘Sharing Selfies’ section in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Oxford Dictionary named 'selfie' its Word of the Year for 2013, and it's not hard to see why. The act of taking a selfie—a photo taken of you, by you—has moved on from bathroom mirrors and is now at the Oscars and the red carpet of the Prince's Trust Awards—you name it.

Perhaps looking to capitalize on the hype, Apple has launched a new section in its App Store specifically for apps that specialize in taking self portraits. Aptly named 'Sharing Selfies,' the section highlights various apps like Snapchat, Frontback, FaceTune and Selfie Cam...

FCC approves AT&T’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Leap Wireless

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Last summer, AT&T announced that it had reached an acquisition deal with Leap Wireless. The company said that it would be buying out the provider, which owns and operates the popular prepaid carrier Cricket, for $15 per share—equal to $1.3 billion. All it needed was approval from the FCC.

And it just got it. Yesterday the Federal Communications Commission gave AT&T's acquisition proposal a thumbs up, ruling that "the public interest benefits of the proposed transaction outweigh the likelihood of significant public interest harms." So what does this mean for everybody involved?

Apple pushing iPhone 5c with new animated web ads

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Apple has been having a little more trouble selling the iPhone 5c than it anticipated. We've known this for a long time, and Tim Cook himself confirmed it during the company's last earnings call, essentially telling analysts that the handset has not been as popular as they expected.

But instead of throwing in the towel, Apple appears to be experimenting with a new advertising campaign to push the device. Animated ads, like the one you see in the screenshot above, have begun popping up on high profile websites like Tumblr, Yahoo and The New York Times...

Apple seeds second OS X 10.9.3 beta to developers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Apple has seeded the second OS X 10.9.3 to registered Mac developers this afternoon. The release comes one week after Apple released the first beta of 10.9.3, which added enhanced 4K display support.

The new beta build is available to registered Mac developers through the Software Update tab in the Mac App Store, or as a complete download via the Mac section of Apple’s online developer portal…