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 software engineer on how the iPhone’s Tri-tone text tone came to be

Cody Lee ∙ August 12, 2013

The iPhone is such an iconic handset that a number of its features are instantly recognizable. The app-laden Home screen, the single Home button below the touch screen. Heck, even the sounds—how many of you check your phone when you hear the Tri-tone alert?

Well as it turns out, there's actually an interesting story behind that chime, which dates all the way back to 1998. It actually started as the sound to alert a user when a CD burning session was complete in an app called SoundJam, which was later acquired by Apple...

Facebook app updated with hashtag support, restaurant reservations and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Facebook just posted a significant update for its iOS client, bringing the app to version 6.4. The update brings about a number of new features and improvements, including support for the social network's new hashtag feature.

Version 6.4 also includes a new feature that allows users to make restaurant reservations from within the Facebook app. So if you see a place you'd like to try in the local business Pages, you can set that up with a single click...

Breaking Bad fans not happy with the way iTunes handles final season

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

AMC's hit TV show Breaking Bad, starring Bryan Cranston, returned last night for the highly anticipated second half of its final season (5). I wasn't able to find specific numbers, but it's believed that the premier could have broken several ratings records.

But while cable viewers turned out in droves, many iTunes users were met with disappointment when they logged in to view the episode. As it turns out, folks who purchased a Season Pass for the first half of the season don't get access to the second half...

Norwegian government blocking Apple from capturing 3D map data for Oslo

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

It appears that the Norwegian government is blocking Apple from capturing 3D Flyover footage of Oslo, its capital. The news comes from a report out of Norway-based newspaper Aftenposten.

A Norway government official has confirmed this to be the case, saying the country's National Security Authority is intentionally blocking Apple from grabbing the aerial data it needs for its Maps app because it doesn't want the company accidentally mapping out confidential buildings within Oslo...

Video of Pixar founder as he accepts Steve Jobs’ Disney Legends Award

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 21, 2013

Back in July, Disney announced that it was going to be honoring Steve Jobs with a Disney Legend Award. The award is the media conglomerate’s highest and most coveted honor, and is reserved for extraordinary visionaries and artists.

Well the award ceremony was held yesterday, in the D23 Expo Arena at the Anaheim Convention Center. And when Pixar founder John Lasseter took the stage to accept the Legend award on Steve Jobs' behalf, he gave quite the speech....

New report reiterates ‘5C’ name for budget iPhone, calls for a gold 5S colorway

Cody Lee ∙ August 11, 2013

It's been a big weekend for iPhone rumors. And now that we've all circled September 10 on our calendars as the likely date for Apple's big smartphone event, it's time to start trying to figure out just what exactly it'll unveil.

A new report out of Japan today corroborates previous chatter, claiming that we'll be seeing two iPhones on stage that Tuesday: a low-budget model that is indeed called the 'iPhone 5C,' and an iPhone 5S with a gold colorway...

New iPhone to feature sapphire-covered convex Home button with fingerprint sensor?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Hot on the heels of AllThingsD's report that Apple will be holding its iPhone event on September 10, comes a new note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo regarding the handset. Kuo, as most of you know, has been very accurate with Apple intel in the past.

This time around, the analyst is calling for the iPhone 5S to feature a sapphire-covered convex Home button. Kuo believes the protruding convex shape (as opposed to concave) will provide enough room for a fingerprint sensor, and the sapphire will protect it...

Apple to unveil new iPhone at September 10th event

Cody Lee ∙ August 10, 2013

Apple will take the wraps off of its next generation iPhone, believed to be the iPhone 5S, on September 10, according to a new report from The WSJ-owned AllThingsD. The blog says that sources have confirmed the company is planning a media event for the date.

While we haven't seen near the amount of "leaked" parts for the new iPhone as we have for the rumored budget model or the iPad 5, we still think we have a pretty good idea what to expect: a familiar-looking device with internal upgrades and an improved camera...

Nintendo president explains why we’ll never see an official Mario game in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 25, 2016

Nintendo released their most recent financial results last week, and the numbers didn't look good. As suspected, the Wii U is selling quite poorly (the company only sold 160,000 during the quarter) and overall sales are down 1.9% year-over-year.

So with sales of its 9-month-old console already slipping, and no new hardware on the horizon, industry watchers are again calling for Nintendo to consider porting its library of games to, and developing new games for, other consoles and platforms.

But president Satoru Iwata reiterates that won't happen while he's in charge...

All Dev Center services now back online, memberships extended one month for outage

Cody Lee ∙ August 10, 2013

Apple sent out an email to developers tonight, informing them that all Developer Program Services are now back online. The news puts an end to a three week outage, which began mid-July following a security breach on Apple's Developer website.

Since the breach, Apple has promised to overhaul its developer systems and rebuild its database in order to prevent something like this from happening again. And over the last few weeks, it has slowly been bringing its various services back online...

What a 12.9-inch iPad looks like next to an iPad 4, MacBook Air

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 26, 2016

Earlier this year, a report from a Korean news site claimed that Apple was looking at the possibility of launching a 12.9-inch iPad in early 2014. We called the story 'crazy,' as among other things, it called for the monstrous tablet to be named the 'iPad maxi.'

Surprisingly, though, late last month the Wall Street Journal corroborated the report, saying it had it on good authority that Apple was really working on such a device. And on the off chance that it ever makes it to market, here's what it could look like...

Samsung to purchase OLED firm Novaled for $347 million

Cody Lee ∙ August 9, 2013

Despite the fact that Apple seems to be doing everything in its power to reduce its supply chain dependence on Samsung, the two appear to be inseparable. The Korean tech giant still makes a number of iOS device components, including processors and displays.

With that in mind, you can understand why we were interested to hear this afternoon that Samsung is in the process of purchasing Novaled, a German-based OLED (organic light-emitting diode) company, for a staggering 260 million euros, or $347 million USD...