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.

Yahoo Mail app updated with better support for Apple’s VoiceOver feature

Yahoo has posted a small but significant update for its iOS Mail client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 2.0.5. Aside from the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, the update brings about deeper VoiceOver support.

This is more of a PSA than an update alert—a lot of folks depend on Apple's VoiceOver feature in iOS to help them navigate about apps, input and read text, and perform other actions. And now they can utilize the feature in Yahoo Mail...

Twitter caught testing major Facebook-like redesign

I'm not big into social networking—Facebook, Path, Instagram, etc.—but I'm a longtime and frequent user of Twitter. I could give you a dozen reasons why I like it, but it comes down to its pool of high-profile users and its in-line streaming design.

That design, however, could be going by the wayside in the not-too-distant future. Twitter has been caught testing a major redesign for user profiles and tweet streams which features larger photos, rearranged tweets, and several other UI changes...

Developers say iOS 7.1 fixes issue impacting location-based apps

It appears that an issue in iOS 7 that disabled the geolocation functions on apps that were force-closed by the user is being corrected in iOS 7.1. Developers say that in the latest iOS 7.1 betas, force-closing an app does not disable its location-aware functions.

This has been a major problem for developers since the launch of iOS 7 last fall—particularly for those who had location-based apps. Some devs have even reported that their App Store ratings have plummeted in the last 6 months due to the technical change...

Rdio app updated with in-app playlist editing and reviews

Good news for Rdio users this afternoon. The music streaming service has posted an update for its iOS client, bringing the app to version 2.5.7 and adding a few new features including Playlist Editing and the ability to read and write reviews in-app.

Users can now edit their playlists from any mobile device by adding, removing and rearranging songs, and editing playlist artwork. They can also now write reviews for those playlists, and albums, and read reviews written by other other Rdio users...

Apple top target for patent trolls, sued 92 times in 3 years

Apple has taken much criticism over the years for its patent litigation efforts, for going after Samsung, Motorola and other companies for violating its intellectual property. But what many don't know is that the iPad-maker defends itself against just as many lawsuits.

In fact, according to some recently filed FTC documents, Apple has been litigated against by PAEs (or Patent Assertion Entity, commonly known as a patent troll) 92 times during the past 3 years. And that's just the number of cases that actually made it to a courtroom...

Moga knocks 20% off price of ‘Ace Power’ iOS 7 controller

MOGA has dropped the price of its 'Ace Power' iOS 7 gaming controller by 20%, bringing it down to $80 from $100. The move follows similar price drops by both Logitech and Strata on their respective MFi controllers, signaling a trend in the space.

The Ace Power was the first of the iPhone-compatible game controllers to hit the market when it launched in November, and it features a d-pad, dual analog sticks, 4 action buttons/triggers, and a built-in 1800 mAh battery for recharging your device...

Popular theming app pulled from Google Play due to Apple copyright complaint

Themer, a popular Android customization app by MyColorScreen, was pulled from the Google Play marketplace last week. The app allows users to browse a selection of home screen themes, and it appears that one of them may be guilty of copyright infringement.

The theme is called 'Seven,' and as you've probably guessed by now, it looks like its creator got a lot of his inspiration from iOS 7. So Apple has filed a copyright complaint with Google, forcing the search giant to remove the app to avoid further legal ramifications...

Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders named IGN’s ‘Free Game of the Month’

Good news gamers, IGN has named the popular Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders its Free Game of the Month. This is one of the few times that the game, which normally retails for $4.99, has ever been made available at no cost.

For those unfamiliar with the title, this particular episode of Sky Gamblers was first released in late 2012 and bills itself as the 'ultimate World War II air combat' game with a variety of levels and plane models to choose from...

Apple launches iTunes Radio in Australia

Apple has officially launched its streaming music service iTunes Radio in Australia this morning, making it the first non-U.S. country to gain access to the service since it was introduced last fall.

It was reported in October that Apple had plans to rollout iTunes Radio to the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand in early 2014, and this appears to be the first step of that International push...

AT&T tops Verizon in customer service survey, T-Mobile most improved

J.D. Power and Associates published its bi-annual report on wireless customer care performance this week, ranking the top 4 US carriers based on various stats related to customer service.

The marketing research firm asked more than 7,000 subscribers how satisfied they were with the customer service they received from their cell phone provider, and here is how they scored...

Used iPhones with Flappy Bird installed going for $100K on eBay

Here's an entertaining little anecdote to start your week off. By now, I'm sure most of you know about Flappy Bird; that it essentially became an overnight success, and that its developer pulled it from the App Store yesterday. But the saga may not be over just yet.

Shortly after the game was pulled on Sunday, iPhones with Flappy Bird installed started appearing on eBay. It's not too surprising that folks would want to capitalize on its popularity, but what may catch you off guard is that some of them are going for big bucks...

Vimeo updated with new gestures, improved AirDrop support and more

Vimeo users will notice that the video-sharing site pushed out an update for its iOS client this weekend, bringing the app to version 4.0.8. The update includes enhancements such as new gestures, deeper AirDrop integration and more.

As far as the new gestures go, you can now swipe left or right on a video thumbnail to share it, like it, or watch it later, or add it to your device. And with the improved AirDrop support, you can quickly share videos from device to device...