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.

iOS 5.1 jailbreak update: two big vulnerabilities found

We've just received a major update on the status of the iOS 5.1 jailbreak. Pod2g just tweeted that he had "a productive weekend," reportedly finding "2 big vulnerabilities. 1 kernel land and 1 root land."

The news comes just 5 days after the hacker posted a poll on his personal website, asking jailbreakers if hackers should continue work on an iOS 5.1 jailbreak or hold off until Apple seeds iOS 6...

The New Yorker profiles infamous hacker George “GeoHot” Hotz

George "GeoHot" Hotz has been described as one of the most famous hackers of our generation. Most of us know him for his work in the jailbreak community, and his original iPhone unlock that launched him into the public eye.

But Hotz is much more than that. He's a a former Facebook and Google alum, and a two-time finalist at Intel's International Science and Engineering fair. And more recently, he's the subject of a lengthy article in The New Yorker...

Tweetbot gets updated with new gestures and more

A new version of TweetBot for iOS has popped up in the App Store today, bringing the popular Twitter client to version 2.3. The update is a sizable one, featuring a number of new additions and bug fixes.

The theme of 2.3 seems to be all about speed. If you've ever disliked Tweetbot because you felt it was too slow, this new version might be worth trying — it's much faster. Keep reading for the full changelog...

Thieves beware: this iPhone will self-destruct in 5 seconds

In the world of iPhone rumors, things tend to get a tad ridiculous at times. In fact, if we were to believe some of the reports we've heard, Apple's next smartphone will have a 5-inch screen and be machined from liquid metal.

Well the folks over at AatmaStudio, known for their powerful Apple product concepts, have taken ridiculous to the next level. Check out their vision for the next iPhone, and its cool self-destructing remote-wipe feature...

Who says all jailbreakers are pirates?

"After all most jailbreak users are only in it for running unlocks and pirating apps." This was the last line in a series of tweets by infamous iDevice hacker I0n1c, talking about the state of the jailbreak. While I'm not typically the kind of person to get riled up over such an ignorant comment, I feel like there's a similarly negative consensus about jailbreaking that needs to be addressed.

It's a fairly true statement to say that all iOS app pirates are jailbreakers. After all, I don't know of any other way to pirate apps – and if there is, it can't be easier –  than by jailbreaking. But to say that all, or even "most" jailbreakers are pirates is asinine. From where I'm sitting, the jailbreak community looks pretty awesome. And it's made up of much more than just pilferers....

Apple seriously considered giving the iPhone a physical keyboard

We've heard rumors in the past that Apple had an iPhone prototype with a physical keyboard floating around its Cupertino labs. But the speculation has never been confirmed or denied. Until now.

Tony Fadell, a long-time Apple employee turned Nest founder, was on The Verge's tech talk show On The Verge last night. And the ex-Senior Vice President dropped some insider information about Apple's popular handset...

Cookie: backup and restore your unlock activation ticket right from your iPhone

We've shown you how to manually backup your iPhone's unlock activation ticket. And then a new version of Red Sn0w came out that made the process even easier. Well now, thanks to a new jailbreak utility, you can do it right from your iPhone.

Folks using the new SAM method to unlock their handsets have been directed to backup their activation tickets to make unlocking a possibility in the future. And now with Cookie, the task is as easy as opening an app and tapping a button...

Apple cracking down on App Store manipulation services

Earlier this year, we pointed out an interesting discovery regarding the App Store's list of top 25 free apps. Apparently, some developers were employing seedy marketing services to move their apps up the ranks, using tens of thousands of download bots.

Well it looks like Apple is cracking down on such services, as downloads for the top 200 free apps in the U.S. have dropped more than 30% over the past two months. And Fiksu, a legitimate app marketing firm, attributes part of the decline to Apple's actions...

Apple’s new celebrity iPhone 4S ads are testing well with viewers

Last week, two new iPhone 4S commercials surfaced starring Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel. And given the fact that Apple hasn't used celebrities in its TV spots in quite some time, there was some questions on who was behind the ads.

Well as it turns out, Apple was. And apparently it was a smart move. According to Ace Metrix, an advertising tracking firm, the celebrity iPhone 4S ads are generating higher scores with consumers than any other 4S ads aired this year...

Apple snagged nearly 10% of mobile phone market last quarter

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone back in 2007, he said that Apple was looking to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008. This would've given it a measly 1% of the mobile phone market. Well Jobs would be happy to hear that Apple's marketshare is now roughly 10x that.

According to a new report from Strategy Analytics, the Cupertino company accounted for 9.5% of all global handset shipments in the first quarter of 2012. Apple also kept its spot as the third largest mobile phone manufacturer during the three month period...

Kindle Fire now accounts for over half of Android tablet market

Still wondering why Apple would want to enter the budget tablet market with a 7.85-inch iPad? Perhaps this will help shine some light on the matter.

ComScore, a highly regarded research firm, is out with a new report today regarding the current landscape of Android tablets. And guess which slate is leading the pack? The $199 Amazon Kindle Fire...

Surf the web in total privacy with Onion Browser

If a person wanted to browse the web discreetly on their iOS device, there are a number of ways to do so. For starters, there is the native 'Private Browsing' function in mobile Safari. And there dozens of third-party browsers available with similar features.

But if a person wanted to browse the web in an untraceable, highly-secure, super-stealth manner, they might have to turn to an app like Onion Browser. The software allows you to encrypt, block, and spoof your way to total anonymity on the web...