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.

Verizon confirms $130 billion purchase of Vodafone stake in Verizon Wireless

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

It's official, Verizon has reached an agreement with Vodafone to buyout its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion. The news comes after several months of rumors and speculation, and a report from The Wall Street Journal this weekend.

The deal, which is expected to close by the beginning of next year, is significant for a few reasons. For one, it will put Verizon in full control of the largest wireless carrier in the US. And two, it will rank as one of the largest acquisitions in history...

Images of alleged iPhone 5C packaging and manual hit the web

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 29, 2017

A new image surfaced online this weekend, claiming to depict a dozen iPhone 5C units in their retail packaging. The phone, which is believed to be Apple's long-rumored budget iPhone, is shown in a transparent box similar to that of the iPod touch.

The image was accompanied by two other photos, which also claim to show 5C packaging material. If legitimate, they offer a sneak peek at the handset's user manual, including a device diagram and legal information, and its SIM card ejection tool...

New GlyphPatch tweak patches recently exposed DoS exploit in iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

Filippo Bigarella has released a new jailbreak tweak this weekend called GlyphPatch. The utility patches the recently exposed DoS exploit which targets Safari's WebKit engine and causes apps to crash when rendering a malicious sequence of characters.

The bug, which was made public last week, affects users on both iOS and Mac and can be triggered through a few different surfaces: SMS, iMessage, the web, and network SSID. But jailbroken iOS users can protect themselves from it with this new tweak...

Verizon to pay Vodafone $130 billion for its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 15, 2018

Verizon has reached an agreement with Vodafone to purchase its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for roughly $130 billion, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The outlet says that the deal isn't final yet, but it could be announced as soon as Monday.

The acquisition would be the second-largest ever of its kind, coming in about $40 billion behind another Vodafone deal—a $172 billion buyout of Mannesmann AG in 1999—and would cement Verizon's control of the biggest wireless carrier in the US by subscriber base...

Patent struggles may keep this MagSafe-like headphone adapter from being made

Cody Lee ∙ August 25, 2013

I've always thought Apple's magnetic MagSafe power connector was an ingenious piece of tech. In fact, I was hoping to see them include it in the iPhone 5 and other iOS products. But obviously, that wish never materialized.

Designer Jon Patterson is still trying to make it happen, though, with the Pogo, a MagSafe-like magnetic connector for your iPhone. He's only using it for headphones right now, but he says it'll likely work for power cords too...

OpenJailbreak portal now open to the public

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 25, 2016

Last month, we reported that p0sixninja's OpenJailbreak website was up and running. But either the launch was premature, or some problems were discovered, because shortly after the site went up, it was taken down.

Well whatever the issue was, it's been fixed. Joshua Hill (p0sixninja) announced on Twitter earlier today that OpenJailbreak.org is now open to the public, and he encourages hackers and developers to get involved...

New photo shows iPhone 5C units in QA testing at Pegatron

Cody Lee ∙ August 24, 2013

A new photo surfaced earlier today, claiming to show a dozen or so iPhone 5C units in testing. Apple, like all electronics companies, requires its manufacturers to test small batches of its products for quality assurance purposes.

But between the company's notorious demand for secrecy, and the inability to confirm these are actually iPhones, we figured the handsets in the photo were more than likely knockoffs. But it turns out, they may be the real deal...

A look at Tim Cook’s first two years as Apple’s CEO

Cody Lee ∙ August 24, 2013

Two years ago today, to the date, Tim Cook officially took over the reigns as Apple's CEO. Cook had long been handling the position's day-to-day duties, and had played interim CEO on a few occasions, but on August 24, 2011, Steve stepped down and Tim stepped up.

One can only imagine what it's like to try and take over a chief executive role for a company as big as Apple, following up someone like Steve Jobs. But Tim Cook has thus far managed to do it. Here are some of the more notable moments from his two-year tenure...

CBS Sports app updated with new Football GameTracker, Power Rankings and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

With this year's NFL season set to kickoff in less than two weeks, football fans will be happy to hear that CBS has just updated its Sports app with some significant improvements to help them keep track of all the action.

The update, which brings the client to version 6.1, includes a new feature called Football GameTracker, which offers live play-by-play data and current drive play chart. It also adds Power Rankings, Stat Leaders, and more...

New report claims iPhone 5S, 5C will launch in China on November 28

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

Apple's iPhone 5S and 5C won't be released in China until November 28, according to a new report. That would put it roughly two months behind the handsets' initial launch, which is expected to happen on Friday, September 20.

The reason for the delay is that the iPhones have apparently not completed the verification process required by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. And it's not unusual—it happened last year with the iPhone 5...

New Microsoft ad touts Lumia 1020 camera, mocks iPhone users

Cody Lee ∙ August 22, 2013

My how the tables have turned. Five years ago Apple was running its 'I'm a Mac' ads, attacking the perceived weaknesses of PCs running Microsoft's Windows software. And now we have Microsoft making ads that attack Apple products.

The Redmond company's latest in a series of Cupertino-bashing commercials pits the 41MP camera of Nokia's Lumia 1020 against that on the iPhone 5. And as you can imagine, the spot paints iPhone users in a not-so-favorable light...

Facebook changes third-party app login rules to stop unwanted posts

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Facebook has rolled out some nice little changes to the way third-party apps request permissions from users when. The move, it says, is part of an effort to get users to post more to its social network from other apps.

The changes will require third-party applications that connect with Facebook to request separate permissions to 'read' information from your FB account, and to write, or publish any app activity on your Timeline...