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.

Apple: ‘several billion’ iMessages sent daily, Apple TV raked in $1 billion last year

As expected, Apple held its 2014 shareholders meeting on its Cupertino campus this afternoon. Apple executives were on hand, as were the company's board of directors, to reassure investors that things are on track for another successful year, and to field shareholder questions.

Most of the meeting was filled with the usual dreck: approving and rejecting proposals, reelecting board members, and so on, but things began to liven up when Tim Cook began dropping numbers. Keep reading for a roundup of some of the most interesting points from the meeting...

Tony Hawk working on new skateboarding game for mobile devices

Skateboarding legend and mogul Tony Hawk revealed last night that he's working on a new skateboarding game for mobile devices. During an interview with Larry King, Mr. Hawk said that the game will have swipe-based controls and is coming this year.

Unfortunately, very few other details are known about the game—we're not even sure if it's going to launch under the familiar 'Tony Hawk Pro Skater' branding—but given Hawk's track record, we're excited. We have a clip of the Larry King interview below...

Apple reportedly working on iOS update to improve Touch ID

As cool as the fingerprint reader is on the iPhone 5s, it's not perfect. We have, on several occasions, complained about the accuracy of Touch ID seemingly 'fading' over time, and a number of 5s owners have turned out to Apple's support forums to voice their disdain as well.

Luckily, it sounds like there may be light at the end of the tunnel. AppleInsider is reporting this morning that the Cupertino company is currently preparing a software update that will improve the fingerprint recognition experience of Touch ID, and possibly fix the 'fade' issue...

German court dismisses $2 billion patent troll suit against Apple

Earlier this month it was reported that Apple was getting sued for over $2 billion by known patent troll IPCom. The german company alleged that the iPad-maker violated one of its patents pertaining to priority access to channels for emergency responder.

But it doesn't look like the suit will ever make it to trial. FOSS Patents is reporting that in a string of rulings handed down by the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany today, two of IPCom's suits against Apple and one against HTC have been dismissed...

Best Buy offering $150 gift card to iPhone users trading up to 5s

Folks looking to score an iPhone 5s on the cheap may want to check out your local Best Buy store. I know it feels like we're saying this on a weekly basis now, but the retailer is once again holding a sale on Apple's most popular handset.

This time around, Best Buy is offering a minimum of a $150 gift card for folks looking to trade-in an iPhone 4s or 5 for a new iPhone 5s. And between that and its current $50 off promotion, you could easily score a 16GB model for just $1...

Amazon said to be working on ‘Prime’ music streaming service

According to Recode, Amazon is in talks with record labels regarding a potential music streaming service. The site says the company plans to bundle the service with its Prime delivery option, where it already offers free movies and TV shows.

Sources familiar with the negotiations say Amazon has been having serious discussions with labels for the past few months, but it's no where close to a deal. Apparently the e-commerce giant is asking for too much of a discount on licensing fees...

Moga teases new MFi Bluetooth controller for iOS 7 devices

Moga didn't make a very good first impression in the iOS 7 controller space. Plagued by the typical new-category teething issues, the Ace Power launched to mostly negative reviews last fall despite its large built-in battery and dual analog joysticks.

But the mobile accessory-maker isn't going to let a little bad press get it down. This week, Moga began sending out a teaser image (seen above) for a new MFi controller. It looks a lot like the Ace Power, but with one big difference: a Bluetooth button...

Nearly one-third of new iOS games are Flappy Bird clones

It's been nearly three weeks since developer Dong Nguyen pulled Flappy Bird from the App Store, but its presence is still very much felt in the Top Charts. It seems every other day another clone of Nguyen's hit game pops up in the list of the most popular apps.

That's not too surprising though, considering that according to The Guardian, a big chunk of new iOS games are Flappy Bird clones. How big of a chunk? Well, looking at a group of 300 new games over 24 hours, the outlet says that one-third were FB knockoffs...

‘Tiny Firefighters’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple has named 'Tiny Firefighters' by Wonderkind its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the application for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a nice little savings of $1.99.

For those unfamiliar with it, Tiny Firefighters is an interactive app/book/game for kids that's both fun and educational. Help the firefighters and police officers perform their duties around town by putting out fires and catching burglars...

Google Hangouts 2.0 is out with iOS 7 redesign, full iPad support, video messaging and more

Google updated the iOS client for its popular messaging platform Hangouts today, bringing the app to version 2.0. The update brings about a number of improvements including full optimization for the iPad and iOS 7 and more.

A few new features have also been added, such as the ability to share animated stickers and record and send video messages up to 10 seconds long. Additionally, you can send a map of your current location to other Hangouts users...

Instapaper update adds AirPlay support, send to Kindle functionality

Instapaper, which has long been the go-to 'read it later' service for iOS users, updated its iPhone and iPad client today, bringing the app to version 5.1.5. The update brings about a number of new features and improvements.

On the features side of things, 5.1.5 adds support for Instapaper's 'Daily' trending story service, as well as a new Send to Amazon Kindle function. And as for improvements, it adds better AirPlay support, back gestures and more...

ABC to live stream the Oscars via its iOS ‘Watch’ app this Sunday

ABC has said that it is going to stream the complete Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday to mobile phones. The network has long offered highlights of the event on mobile, but this is the first time it'll stream the event live.

The feed will be funneled through the 'Watch ABC' app, which means that if you have it installed on an iOS device and meet the requirements, you'll be able to catch the show. Unfortunately, the requirements are pretty stringent...