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.

Alaska Airlines updates app with Passbook support

Good news future travelers. Alaska Airlines has updated its official iPhone app today to allow its customers to access digital boarding passes using their iPhones. The update, which brings the app to version 2.6, includes support for Passbook.

Alaska is listed as the 7th largest US airline, by passenger traffic, and it joins several other major airlines in backing Apple's digital wallet platform. Earlier this month, both Easy Jet and Qantas updated their apps with Passbook support...

CEO confirms Siri uses Nuance voice recognition tech

In the months leading up to 2011's WWDC event, there were numerous reports that Apple would announce a major partnership with voice recognition giant Nuance. Obviously, the gossip never materialized, and Apple didn't even end up unveiling Siri until that fall.

But despite the fact that no one has ever come out and said it, Nuance has long been given credit for powering Siri's speech recognition capabilities. And today, the company's CEO Paul Ricci confirmed the theory while speaking at AllThingsD's D11 conference...

Adobe releases new Kuler color-picking app for iPhone

I guess the title could have read: "Adobe finally releases Kuler color-picking app for iPhone," because the company announced it nearly 2 years ago. Adobe introduced the app as part of a suite of new touch-friendly applications back in October of 2011.

But better late than never. Kuler hit the App Store this morning as the color-picking app Adobe originally promised. You can capture colors using your iPhone's camera, or previously downloaded photos, and you can create and save your own color themes...

Popular Dots game lands on iPad, gets multiplayer mode

By now, most of you have probably heard of Dots. The game, which has only been out for about a month now, has seen over 2 million downloads and over 250 million plays during its short existence. It's quickly becoming a hit.

Today, BetaWorks has posted a significant update for the title, bringing the software to version 1.7. Most notably, the update includes support for the iPad, a new multiplayer mode, and high-contrast colors for color blind players...

Apple launches new 16GB iPod touch without iSight camera for $229

This is kind of interesting. Without cryptic event invites or rampant speculation, Apple just introduced a new product. No, it's not the iWatch or anything like that. It's just a new version of its fifth generation iPod touch.

As most of you know, Apple  unveiled the 5th-gen touch during its iPhone 5 event last fall. But up until now, it's only been available in 32GB and 64GB. The new one comes with 16GB of storage, and few other changes...

Jawbone executive unveils new ‘August’ digital door lock

Well known designer and Chief Creative Officer of Jawbone, Yves Behar, gave the world a preview of his next big venture last night. It's called 'August,' and it's an iPhone-connected digital lock system that promises to change the way we open doors.

Now, Internet-enabled smart locks aren't anything new. But what the August brings to the table is a sleek design—which was fashioned by Behar (who designed the Jambox, Up)—and superior functionality. Think of it as the Nest for door locks...

Apple announces London iTunes Festival starring Justin Timberlake and others

Apple has tonight announced details for its upcoming iTunes Festival, an annual music festival it's sponsored for the last 5 years. This year's event, like last year's, will be taking place at London's historic Roundhouse venue throughout the month of September.

Head of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue says that the Festival will be the "best ever," with a star-studded lineup of over 60 acts. Global superstars like Justin Timberlake and Thirty Seconds to Mars are scheduled to perform during the 30-day event...

JailbreakCon 2013 schedule and speakers announced

Some big news this afternoon in the jailbreak community. JailbreakCon, the group behind the annual convention for jailbreakers, has just posted up the schedule for this year's event, as well as a list of high-profile speakers.

It will be a 2-day affair at the Raddison Hotel in New Rochelle, New York, with workshops and speeches given by some of the biggest names in jailbreaking like Saurik, and tweak developers Filippo Bigarella and Ryan Petrich...

Major ‘Dubai’ update released for Real Racing 3

Good news this afternoon for Real Racing fans. Electronic Arts has released the massive 'Dubai' update we told you about earlier this week, and it is now available in the App Store. The update features everything you'd expect from a franchise racer, including new car-makers, new car models, and new tracks...

Developer of ‘Elements’ iOS app teases upcoming release using Passbook

Fans will be happy to hear today that Second Gear, the developers of the popular iOS note-taking and Markdown editing app Elements, have a new application in the works. We don't yet know what that app is, but we do know how they'll announce it.

Passbook, apparently. The team has created an information server called Pit Pass, and it will actually push updates regarding the status of their new app to devices using Passbook. It's a clever idea, that has heightened anticipation for their new software...

New hacked Verizon carrier update promises faster data speeds

iPhone 4s

Over the past month or so, we've seen hacked carrier updates released for both T-Mobile and AT&T. The modded firmware files were posted with the promise of improving data speeds in iPhones, and iPads with built-in cellular capabilities.

Not wanting to leave the folks on ol' Big Red out, the developer of those two hacks has posted a hacked carrier update for Verizon. And like the others, it promises to better device performance on the network by opening up its bandwidth...

Full video of Tim Cook D11 interview now available

As many of you know, Tim Cook participated in a rare public interview last night at AllThingsD's D11 conference. Speaking with the site's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, the CEO talked about a number of topics, including Apple's interest in wearable computers and iOS 7.

We've already covered several aspects of the lengthy discussion with a thorough recap, including a few video clips, and a top 15 list of the most interesting points. But for those of you who just can't get enough of Cook's comments, the entire interview has just been posted...