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.

Instagram returns to original ad terms after fallout

Cody Lee ∙ December 21, 2012

Things have been pretty rough for Instagram here lately. Earlier this week, the photo sharing network announced an update for its TOS (or terms of service) that included talk of "advertising" and "your photos." Obviously, this didn't sit well with many of its users, and mayhem ensued.

To stop the wildfire, co-founder Kevin Systrom published a blog post assuring the community it was all a misunderstanding, and that Instagram would be changing the language in its TOS to clear things up. Now its reverted to the original terms to try and get everything back to normal...

Chitika: recent iOS 6 adoption spike due to China iPhone 5 launch

Cody Lee ∙ December 21, 2012

Earlier this week, a report surfaced from MoPub, a mobile ad serving platform, suggesting that the recent release of Google Maps caused a 30% spike in iOS 6 user adoption. And of course, it made sense that some folks were holding out on updating until they were sure they'd have a proper Maps app.

But what didn't make sense was how far off MoPub's findings were from Chitika's. You see Chitika, another large ad network, also looked at iOS 6 user adoption after the Google Maps release, and it only saw a 0.2% bump. So why the huge discrepancy? It likely has to do with the firms' coverage areas...

Apple appeals Judge’s decision to dismiss Samsung injunction

Cody Lee ∙ December 21, 2012

As expected, Apple is filing for an appeal on Judge Koh's decision to throw out its request for a permanent injunction against Samsung's products. In addition to the $1 billion in damages it won back in August, the iPad-maker was seeking a US sales ban on all of Samsung's infringing devices.

But in a pair of rulings handed down Monday, Koh denied both Samsung's request for a re-trial due to jury misconduct, and Apple's injunction request, noting that it would not be in the public's best interest to halt Samsung handset sales when only a few features were found guilty of infringement...

10 tips for getting the most out of Google Maps

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Google Maps made its triumphant return to iOS last week, and there's no question that it's a massive hit. It saw 10 million downloads in its first 48 hours, and it's still the #1 free app in the App Store.

For those of you who haven't tried Google Maps yet, or haven't figured what all of the commotion is about, Google today published a list of 10 tips that will help you get the most out of the software...

Apple named as potential buyer of home automation startup R2 Studios

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

This is pretty interesting. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this afternoon that id8 Group R2 Studios, a home automation startup founded by Slingbox's Blake Krikorian, is in talks to be acquired. Not much is known about the company outside of its Crestron remote control app, but there are reportedly some big names participating in the buyout talks, including Apple...

NIBIQÜ: a Surface-like keyboard case for your iPad

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Despite lackluster sales, Microsoft's new Surface has been praised for its innovations. Windows 8 RT certainly doesn't look like anything else on the market right now, and the tablet's ultra-slim Touch Cover keyboard is an interesting concept.

In fact, a lot of folks are asking if there is something similar available for the iPad. There are, actually several keyboard covers that are compatible with Apple's tablet, but none of them come closer to the Touch Cover than the NIBIQÜ...

Tumblr app finally updated with iPad support

Cody Lee ∙ December 20, 2012

Good news today for all of you Tumblr users. The popular microblogging platform has finally updated its iOS app to work natively on the iPad. Previously, if you wanted to access your Tumblr blog, or view the work of others, from your tablet, you either had to use the website, a third-party application, or the official iOS app in 2X mode. But not anymore...

US Patent Office invalidates another key Apple patent

Cody Lee ∙ December 19, 2012

We've seen the United States Patent and Trademark Office reject or invalidate a few important Apple patents in the last few months, including one covering the infamous 'rubber banding' UI feature, and one covering the iPhone.

Today, the USPTO added another key patent to the list, tentatively declaring Apple's US 7,844,915 invention — widely referred to as the pinch-to-zoom patent — invalid. It's just a preliminary decision, but it's still a fairly big deal...

Apple breaks ground on 1 million square foot Austin campus

Cody Lee ∙ December 19, 2012

Over the past few weeks, Apple has started work on a new 39-acre campus in Austin, TX that will be the future home of the company’s US operations. The new buildout will be an extension of Apple's current campus, which sits just off of Delcour Drive in northern Austin.

It's not going to be as big as the iSpaceship campus Apple is working on in Cupertino, but Apple's plans for the expansion include seven office buildings, combining for slightly more than 1 million square feet of office space, and the creation of some 3,600 local jobs...

Tim Cook talks about being recruited by Steve Jobs and more in Time profile

Cody Lee ∙ December 19, 2012

Hot on the heels of yesterday's news that Tim Cook had been shortlisted in the running for Time’s 2012 Person of the Year award, the magazine has published an extensive profile on the CEO. In it, Cook talks candidly about a wide range of topics, including how he was recruited and hired by Steve Jobs, and the unpredictability of Apple. We've highlighted some key excerpts from the piece for you after the fold...

FCC approves AT&T acquisition of WCS spectrum

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

The Federal Communications Commission made good on its promise this week, and has approved AT&T’s acquisition of licenses to the underutilized 2.3GHz WCS spectrum from Comcast, Horizon, NextWave and others. In all, the licenses cover 82% of the population, across 608 markets, and the carrier plans to use it to beef up its LTE network...

Apple said to be moving up next-gen iPad mini production

Cody Lee ∙ December 19, 2012

Folks who skipped out on the first version of the iPad mini will be happy to hear that they may not have to wait a whole 12 months for the second generation of the tablet to appear. According to a new report today, component-makers for the next-gen mini are preparing for an earlier-than-expected launch...