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.

The Difference Between “Shipped” and “Sold”

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

There's a headline bouncing around the tech blogs this morning that goes something like this: "Samsung Overtakes Apple to Become Top Smartphone Manufacturer." The news comes in wake of Samsung's earnings report it issued to investors this morning.

The Korean handset maker didn't offer any specific numbers, but it did tell shareholders its smartphone shipments were up 40% this quarter. Some analysts are estimating that the increase equals 28 million smartphones, which clearly beats Apple's 17 million, right?

Patent Shows Apple’s Interest in 3D Gesture Controls

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple has spent the last several years revolutionizing the way we interact with our mobile gadgets. Sure, there were touchscreen devices before the iPhone. But none of them worked as well Apple's handset. And the same can be said about Siri and voice control.

It appears that Apple isn't going to settle for just touch and voice controls. A new patent application has surfaced that reveals that the Cupertino company is experimenting with non-touch gesture controls for its iOS devices. And here's how it would work...

MuscleNerd Gives Update on iPhone 4S Jailbreak Status

Cody Lee ∙ October 28, 2011

Ever since Apple unveiled its latest version of the iPhone earlier this month, we've all been wondering one thing: when will it be jailbroken? And now that some of us have had the device for two weeks, we're definitely ready to start hacking.

Tweaks are being updated with iOS 5 compatibility, and new utilities are being introduced that are specific to the new software. So how long must us iPhone 4S users wait until we can access this stuff? Luckily, MuscleNerd has some info for us...

On Android’s Software Fragmentation

Cody Lee ∙ October 27, 2011

We've expressed our opinions on Android software multiple times here on iDB. You can imagine that, as an iPhone blog, we are a little biased towards the iOS platform, but our issues with Android don't come unwarranted.

One of our beefs with Android is that its apps seem to lack the polish that iOS apps have — even in software that is available on both platforms. Why is that? Well, not only do developers have to worry about multiple screen sizes, they also have to worry about multiple versions of Android...

Apple Giving Away Free Copies of JetPack Joyride

Cody Lee ∙ October 27, 2011

Apart from the weekly app sales we see from developers, there are other ways to get good deals on games. One way, for instance, is to go to Starbucks. If you don't mind their coffee, the retailer gives away free apps to their customers.

But what if you don't like coffee? Well then you could check Apple's App Store Facebook site. According to TouchArcade, the company has started giving away free app promo codes to Facebook users that "Like" the App Store's page...

How to Mark Multiple Emails as Read in iOS 5

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2023

For the past few weeks, we've been showing you how to access some handy features in iOS 5. We've shown you how to create text shortcuts, and how to look up word definitions using iOS' system-wide dictionary.

Now we're going to show you how to mark multiple emails as read in iOS 5. This wasn't something you could do before in iOS 4 without a jailbreak tweak, but it's easy to do in the latest version of Apple's mobile OS...

Manufacturers Struggle to Make the iPad 3’s High Resolution Display

Cody Lee ∙ October 27, 2011

The iPad 2 was a fairly big upgrade from its predecessor. It's twice as fast, includes a front and back camera, and is more portable than the original. For some reason, however, Apple neglected to change the tablet's screen resolution. It stayed a dismal 1024 x 768.

But according to CNET, that won't happen again. The site is reporting that Apple is ordering up the most pixel-packed display we've ever seen on a 10-inch tablet. The screens are so ridiculous in fact, that manufacturers are struggling to mass produce them...

What Android Handsets Looked Like Before and After the iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

The ongoing Apple versus Google war can be traced back to Google's entry into the smartphone market. Apple launched its iPhone in the Summer of 2007, and within two years Google answered back by releasing its mobile OS, Android.

This led to a series of events, and eventually an onslaught of litigation between the two companies over "copycatting." The jury is still out on who copied who, but Daring Fireball points to some evidence that seemingly falls in Apple's favor...

Apple Wiping iTunes Match Libraries, Public Release Imminent?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

During its "Let's Talk iPhone" event earlier this month, Apple announced that its highly anticipated iTunes Match service would launch by the end of October. And seeing as how it's October 27th, we can't be too far away from a public release.

Apple is certainly moving the pieces into place. Last week we reported that an iTunes Match toggle popped up in the iOS Settings application, and last night developers received an email stating that their Match libraries would be reset today...

Apple Granted Patent for ‘Slide to Unlock’ Gesture

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone back in 2007, he had a blast showing off the company's first handset. One feature he particularly enjoyed demonstrating was the phone's unlocking mechanism — the now famous Slide to Unlock component.

He loved that users could unlock the phone so easily, and it wasn't something that could be triggered by accident in a pants or coat pocket. He loved it so much, that he didn't want anyone else to have it. So naturally Apple filed a patent application...

Poll Shows Apple Most Popular Electronics Brand Among Youngsters

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 4, 2018

Apple has accomplished a lot of things over the past 10 years. It's been dubbed the largest company in the world (in market cap), it dominates both the MP3 player and tablet markets, and it's amassed quite a large amount of cash.

Now the Cupertino company has another accomplishment to hang its hat on — most popular youth brand. According to TechCrunch, Apple has joined the likes of Oreo and Nintendo as one of the most popular brands in America...

iPod Creator Unveils His Latest Creation, A Thermostat

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 26, 2017

Tony Fadell is best known for his involvement in the creation of Apple's hit music player. The DJ-turned-engineer oversaw 9 years of iPod productions and three years of iPhones. And after 18 months of silence, he's finally unveiled his next big product.

It's a thermostat. You know, the thing that controls the temperature in your house? Except this isn't just an ordinary thermostat, this is an eco-friendly, Wi-Fi enabled, self-adjusting thermostat that you can control from anywhere in the world with your iPhone...