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.

Upcoming jailbreak tweak lets you unlock your iPhone with virtual NES controller

Cody Lee ∙ July 27, 2013

Over the years, we've seen some pretty cool jailbreak tweaks that allow you to unlock your device in unique ways. There's PatternUnlock, which allows you to unlock your device by drawing a pattern, and Piano Passcode, which lets you do it by playing a tune.

And today we're adding a new one to the list, which might just be the coolest of them all. It's called NESUnlocker, and it's a new jailbreak tweak that allows you to unlock your iPhone by entering in a custom sequence of button presses on an NES controller...

Instagram users hacked by smoothie spammer [update]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

If you've been having trouble logging into your Instagram account this morning, or have noticed any strange photos posted to your stream, you're not alone. Several users are reporting that they've been hacked on the popular photo sharing network.

Reports first started surfacing about the issue on Twitter around 11PM last night, according to a report by The Verge. Users who suffered attacks complained that unauthorized photos along with strange URLs had been posted to their accounts...

Apple TV vs. Roku vs. Chromecast content options

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

On Wednesday this week, Google unveiled a handful of new products. There's the second generation Nexus 7 tablet, Android 4.3, and the Chromecast TV dongle. The latter has proved rather popular, selling out in most online stores within the first 72 hours.

The accessory is very similar to the Apple TV, or the Roku box, as it lets you stream Internet content to your television. That content varies, however, depending on which product you go with. So we thought this breakdown of their differences was worth a look...

‘UnthreadedJB’ untethered jailbreak released for CDMA iPhone 4 on iOS 5.1

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Make sure you read that title very carefully before you get too excited. Yes, there's a new jailbreak out, and yes, it's untethered. But odds are, you're not going to fit its compatibility requirements. It only works for CDMA versions of the iPhone 4, and the app only runs on Linux.

It's called UnthreadedJB, and it's developed by a group of people under the same name. To be fair, this is the first untethered jailbreak we've seen for iOS 5.1—I believe Absinthe 2.0 was for iOS 5.1.1—so it doesn't come without acclaim. And several users have confirmed that it works...

Apple says Motorola asked for more than 12 times going rate to license its patents

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

As Apple continues to hold unfruitful settlement talks with Samsung, it seems to have reached an impasse with Motorola as well. The iPad-maker has submitted a new court filing, accusing the Google-owned company of overcharging for its standards essential patents.

The complaint lodged against Motorola was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today, as part of Apple's opening brief in an appeal effort. Apple wants the court to force Motorola—which is Google at this point—to license its technology at a fair price...

L.A. school district to hand out 31,000 iPads to students this year

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

Last month, word got out that Apple had won a bid for a colossal tablet deal with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district, which is the second-largest in the country, agreed to buy some $30 million worth of iPads.

Today comes more details about the massive tablet rollout. According to a new report from CITEWorld, the LAUSD plans to distribute over 30,000 free iPads to students this school year in an effort to improve education...

Apple wins ‘Brand of the Year’ for computers, smartphones and tablets

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

Apple may be losing smartphone and tablet marketshare, but it's still the top brand in those categories. This, according to data from a recent US-based study on consumer brand perception by Marketing research firm Harris Interactive.

The firm polled some 38,000 Americans regarding their perceptions of their favorite brands, and Apple came out on top in 3 categories. As a result, Harris named the company the 'brand of the year' for smartphones, tablets and computers...

Google+ Local app shutting down next month following Google Maps integration

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Google+ Local for iOS, the reincarnation of Google Places, will be pulled from the App Store on August 7th, according to an email from the Mountain View company. The move comes just over one year after the app first launched for iPhones and iPads.

For those who aren't familiar with the software, it allows users to voice search for nearby restaurants and businesses, as well as read and post reviews. But now that it's been fully integrated into Google Maps, Google says the standalone app needs to go...

Penguin agrees to end Apple ebook deal to appease the European Commission

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The EC announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with book publisher Penguin, ending its antitrust probe into the company. As part of the settlement, the New York-based firm has agreed to terminate its iBooks deal with Apple.

Penguin is one of 5 major publishers that allegedly conspired with Apple to lower ebook prices, sparking antitrust investigations in both the US and Europe. But it looks like this resolution will put an end to the European Commission's quest...

Popular gadget reseller says new Nexus 7 isn’t attracting iPad owners

Cody Lee ∙ July 26, 2013

On Wednesday, Google unveiled a new version of its Nexus 7 tablet. And on paper, it looks great. It's both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and features a number of upgrades, like a hi-res 1,920 x 1,200 display. But so far, iPad users aren't impressed.

That's at least according to electronics buyback site Gazelle. The company says it hasn't seen any kind of spike in iPad trade-ins since the new Nexus 7 was introduced, or in the rumor-filled weeks leading up to it. But first-gen Nexus 7 trade-ins on the other hand...

Apple randomly signing iOS 6.0.x firmware [update: signing is over]

Cody Lee ∙ July 25, 2013

Good news for folks who lost their jailbreak updating their iOS device to try out iOS 7, it appears that Apple is currently signing 6.0.x versions of iOS firmware. This means that you should be able to downgrade your iPhone or iPad to iOS 6 and re-jailbreak.

Well-known iOS hacker and jailbreak developer iH8sn0w was the first to spot the reopening of the signing window, and we have since had multiple users confirm to us that they have successfully downgraded and re-jailbroken their devices. More after the fold...

Yahoo updates Fantasy Football app with new UI and mobile drafting

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Yahoo has posted a major update today to its popular iOS Fantasy Football client, bringing the app to version 5.0. The update features a slew of new features and improvements to get you ready for the start of the 2013 NFL season.

Former users of the app will note some nice UI tweaks and other enhancements, but the biggest addition is perhaps the ability to draft players. Previously, fantasy team owners were required to use a computer to conduct their drafts...