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.

Talk of purported Apple chip plant ‘Project Azalea’ pops up in Oregon

Cody Lee ∙ December 19, 2012

Last week, an interesting report popped up regarding 'Project Azalea,' a mysterious plan for a 3.2 million-square-foot production facility being pitched to New York economic development officials by an unidentified company. Because of its reported $10 billion construction cost, the general consensus is that it's likely a chip-making plant. And rumor has it that it's for Apple's products.

The theory is that the Cupertino company could be behind this Azalea project, along with a major manufacturer like Foxconn or TSMC. It's no secret that Apple is trying to move its mobile chip business away from Samsung, and a new $10B fab plant would definitely help out with that. The question is, where is it going to be built? Because Azalea talk just popped up in Oregon...

Apple awarded design patent for original iPhone by Jobs and Ive

Cody Lee ∙ December 18, 2012

In a world where the company with the biggest and baddest IP portfolio reigns king, Apple is superior. It's proven this on a number of occasions, most recently by winning a settlement of over $1 billion from Samsung in a northern California trial.

Today, it adds another interesting patent to the stack. The US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the Cupertino company a patent for the design of the original iPhone, released in 2007, and created in part by Steve Jobs and Jony Ive...

iH8sn0w’s f0recast tool updated with new features

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

News on the jailbreaking front has been pretty slow as of late. With no release date in sight for a jailbreak compatible with Apple's latest devices and software, it seems like the rest of the community has sort of quieted down.

This afternoon, iOS hacker iH8sn0w broke the silence by releasing an update to his popular f0recast utility. Version 1.4 of the app brings about a number of new features, including the ability to view SHSH blob availability...

Apple now tracking working hours for more than a million supply chain employees

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

It seems like for every report we hear that conditions are getting better in Apple's supply chain factories, there's another one that dispels the notion. Last week, French reporters snuck inside Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, and things still looked pretty grim.

But that doesn't mean that Apple's not trying though. As proof of that, Apple has updated the supplier responsibility page on its website today to show that it is now personally tracking working hours for more than a million supply chain employees...

Google Music rolls out iTunes Match-like scan and match feature to US

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

Google rolled out a new scan-and-match feature for Google Music, the search giant's cloud-based music store and storage service, to the US today. The feature, which was been available in Europe for a while now, will scan a user's music collection on their computer, and quickly rebuild it in the cloud for cross-device streaming. It's a lot like iTunes Match actually, except Google isn't charging for it...

Judge denies Apple’s injunction request, throws out Samsung’s misconduct claims

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

While the high profile Samsung-Apple trial technically ended back in August, with Apple winning a staggering $1 billion judgement, the fallout is far from over. The two companies must still endure countless post-trial hearings and their subsequent appeals.

In fact, both sides met this month to discuss some of their post-trial demands. In addition to its large settlement, Apple wanted Samsung's infringing products to be banned, and Samsung wanted the whole trial thrown out on the back of jury misconduct.

Tonight, US District Judge Lucy Koh published her decisions on both requests in a pair of court filings...

Apple reportedly in talks with Foursquare over data-sharing deal

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

Google and its recently-released Maps application might have the spotlight for now, but Apple is hatching out a plan to win it back. A new report is out this afternoon claiming that the Cupertino company is in preliminary talks with Foursquare, the popular location-based social network, to integrate its local data into iOS Maps...

Rhapsody app finally lands on iPad

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

You have to hand it to Rhapsody. It hasn't been an easy 11 years for the music streaming service, what with the failed acquisitions, and the rise of strong competitors like Spotify and Rdio. But the company refuses to give up.

And today, it has some good news for its subscribers. After months of waiting, Rhapsody has finally released a full-blown iPad app. It's been built from the ground up with a gorgeous image-based UI, and has plenty of features...

Amazon smartphone reportedly in production at Foxconn, launching mid-2013

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

Since its debut last year, the Kindle Fire has garnered quite a bit of attention in the tablet space. Despite Amazon's reluctance to release actual sales numbers, there's no doubt that the slate has made at least a small dent in Apple's majority marketshare.

And now it looks like Amazon is ready to take on Apple and others in the smartphone space as well. A new report today adds to previous rumors that the online retailer is working on a handset, claiming it's already in production, and set for launch next year...

Facebook rolling out Nearby update to its mobile apps

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

Facebook has announced this morning that it will be rolling out an update to its iOS and Android apps later today that will substantially beef up the Nearby feature. The refreshed feature will allow users to discover new places around them and view Yelp-like ratings and reviews from their friends...

Google Maps for iOS saw 10 million downloads in first 2 days

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

It's been 5 days now since Google released its highly-anticipated Maps app for iOS, and it's still the #1 free download in the App Store. With its vector graphics and exclusive features like Street View, the app is obviously a hit.

But just how big of a hit are we talking? Well Google SVP of Commerce Jeff Huber gives us some insight on that via a post to his Google+ page. He says the Maps app saw more than 10 million downloads in the first 48 hours...

How to get directions in Google Maps via Siri, no jailbreak required

Cody Lee ∙ December 17, 2012

After months of rumors and speculation, Google finally launched its standalone Maps app for iOS last week. And it's been pretty popular thus far. It's currently the top free app in the App Store, and it's also listed first in Apple's featured 'Maps' section.

The app does have some caveats though. Perhaps most notably, unlike the built-in Maps app, you can't get directions in Google Maps via Siri. Luckily, a workaround popped up over the weekend that takes care of that. And it doesn't require a jailbreak...