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.

iPhone 5 Pics Leaked Again

Cody Lee ∙ April 7, 2011

Take this one with a grain a salt, as most of these leaked photos are proven to be fake. For Apple's sake, let's hope the case follows suit. These leaked pictures depict a very iPhone 4-looking device with some minor differences.

These photos were posted early this morning on BGR's website. They are supposedly snapshots of the up and coming iPhone 5 and have been making some noise around the internet today. They were said to have been sourced from a Vietnamese forum post, but that is anything but confirmed....

Apple Exploring Smart Bezels and Indicators for Future iPhones

Cody Lee ∙ April 7, 2011

One of the things Apple is most known for is its innovation. They haven't reinvented the wheel with any of their products, they've just made the wheel sexy and easy to use. Patents are a good resource for information on Apple's past and future innovations. Although patents don't always make it to the assembly line, they do shed some light on what Apple's been working on.

Patently Apple is an expert at keeping up with Apple's latest ideas. After the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPT) makes Apple's patent filings public, Patently Apple posts them on their website with a pretty good break down of all the tech talk. Their latest gossip is on a filing from late 2009 by the Cupertino company, concerning a "Smart Bezel." I know it sounds unusual, but Apple is looking to completely change how we interact with our devices...

One Man Turned Jailbreaking iPhones into a Full-Time Job

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

For most of us, we jailbreak because we want to. We do it to get customized apps, tweaks, or to give our iDevices a complete makeover. Even though the process has become extremely simple, we still feel a sense of accomplishment after our device reboots and that Cydia icon is glowing off of the screen.

I've jailbroken friends devices for them, and showed them how to use Cydia to download things. While software like PwnageTool and RedSn0w do most of the iPhone hacking for you, it still isn't recommended for the not-so-tech savvy. One Virginian college student has capitalized on that fact by turning jailbreaking into his full time job...

Apple Orders 12 Petabytes for Cloud-Based iTunes, MobileMe?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2017

Apple's plans for their MobileMe revamp and cloud-based media services are starting to take shape. Although no official announcement regarding either of the services has been made, we are almost positive we will see them at some point this year.

Apple's been relatively quiet about the purposed functions, but tech blogs are happily churning out rumors and speculation on the upcoming features. The latest gossip is that Apple has ordered as much as 12 Petabytes, which is equal to about 1000 Terabytes, from a global leader in scale-out storage services. What could they be planning?

Top 5 Reasons to Jailbreak Your iPad

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 30, 2016

Earlier this week, the jailbreak for Apple's latest iOS 4.3.1 was released. Anyone with an iPad on the latest firmware, couldn't even attempt hacking it until last Sunday night. It was then that the Dev Team finally released a much-awaited jailbreaking solution to the masses.

But why on earth would anyone want to hack their iPad? This is a question I get asked a lot by friends and family members. In all honesty, I could go on for hours on why I have my iDevices jailbroken. Everything from my iPhone to my Apple TV2 has received the jailbreaking treatment, and everything in between.

But in the interest of time and space, I figured I would just put together a top 5 list of reasons why you would want to jailbreak your iPad. Hopefully it benefits some of you that may still be on the fence about the whole idea.

1. It's super easy

Although hacking iOS software is extremely complex, programmers like the Dev Team develop software to make the process extremely simple. These programs make jailbreaking as easy as following a few on screen instructions. If for some reason you do mess up, you can generally just restore in iTunes and start the process over.

2. Cydia

For those of you who aren't familiar with jailbreaking, Cydia is an app store very similar to Apple's App Store. It is generally the only icon that is initially added to your home screen once you have jailbroken. It contains everything from apps to iOS tweaks. Every other item on this list comes from Cydia.

3. Customizable Themes

Apple didn't build a lot of customization options into iOS. It's only been in the last year that they've allowed you change the wallpaper on your iDevice home screen. Customizable themes, allow you to give your iPad a complete makeover.

4. Tweaks

Tweaks can enable extra features, or build on old ones. Their overall purpose is to make using your iPad simpler. SBSettings is a popular tweak in the jailbreak scene. It enables a drop down menu, accessible from your iPad's top status bar, with shortcuts to Wi-Fi and bluetooth. You don't have to open Settings and go through menus to enable bluetooth, you can just tap the shortcut in SBSettings.

5. Cast Out Applications

Everything from productivity apps to full featured messangers are available in the Cydia store. Many of these were denied entry into Apple's App Store for violating one of their submission rules. Without Apple's strict limitations, developers are given the opportunity to be truly innovative.

Like I said the list could have gone on much longer than that, especially if it were broken down into specific tweaks and apps that I liked. If this interested you enough that you would like to give jailbreaking a shot, try our easy step by step guide here, or here if you have Windows.

What are the top 5 reasons you jailbreak your iPad?

iKeyGuard – The First and Only Key Logger for Your iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

The purpose of key loggers has always been kind of cloudy to me. I suppose if you wanted to monitor your computer covertly while you were away, a key logger would make sense.

If you were a parent wanting to keep tabs on your kid's online activities, you could certainly use a key logger to record their ventures. I've even heard of people using key loggers on their spouses.

While, key logging on a computer still doesn't seem useful to me, key logging on a smartphone does.

You could have archives of text messages and emails you've sent from your device. If you have been looking for something similar, the application iKeyGuard makes key logging easy on your iPhone or other iDevice...

White iPhone 4 Once Again Pulled From Apple’s Inventory

Cody Lee ∙ April 6, 2011

White iPhone 4 rumors are a dime a dozen these days. But because of the device's mysterious non-existence, we all still seem to pay attention. At any rate, if you tried to visit the online Apple Store late last night, chances are you saw the above message.

It's been back up and operating for a while now, but why did Apple take their store offline? Typically this is just a sign of site maintenance, and sometimes it can mean that Apple is preparing to launch a new product. A Mac news website is claiming that this time, Apple took the store offline to remove white iPhone 4 SKUs...

Dock 2.0 Gives You One Touch Access to All of Your Apps

Cody Lee ∙ April 6, 2011

If someone were to ask you why they should jailbreak their iPhone, what would you say? For me, the list of reasons could go on for days. The themes, the tweaks, it seems like there are a million ways to customize your iPhone once it's been set free. These tweaks can remove Apple's limitations on things like the amount of sprin gboard pages you can have, or the amount of icons allowed in each folder.

The coolest hacks, in my opinion, are the ones that make multi-step processes on your iPhone less complicated. Don't get me wrong, iOS is so simple a 2 year old could use it. But there are apps like SBSettings that will give you home screen access to settings for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Dock 2.0 also falls in this category, as it makes browsing multiple pages for applications a thing of the past...

Federal Grand Jury Investigates Information Sharing Processes in iOS Apps

Cody Lee ∙ April 6, 2011

For once, it's not Apple facing litigation, but developers of apps in its popular App Store. BGR reported yesterday that New Jersey Federal Prosecutors are starting to get serious about their investigation with popular smartphone applications. The inquisition is looking to determine whether some app developers are in breach of Federal Law.

The post claims that a criminal investigation is underway by a federal grand jury on certain mobile applications. These apps are suspected of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act with their methods of collecting and transmitting user's personal data...

More Evidence of “Photo Stream” in iOS 4.3, Possible iOS 5 Feature?

Cody Lee ∙ April 6, 2011

With an official demo still 2 months away, we can only rely on rumors and speculation to paint a picture of what iOS 5 might look like. Clues hidden inside iOS 4 can also help us predict future iOS characteristics. Some are found through hours of code searching, others are found by pure dumb luck.

9to5 Mac is reporting that one of their readers has stumbled upon some hidden clues in iOS 4.3 that once again point to the rumored Photo Stream feature. The reader uncovered the hidden references while browsing his photo library on his iPhone via a 3rd party editing app. What could these secret features possibly mean for iOS users?

Consumer Reports Names iPad 2 its Top Tablet

Cody Lee ∙ April 5, 2011

Consumer Reports hasn't been a big Apple fan lately. In recent reviews of the iPhone 4, they have stated that they couldn't recommend the smartphone to consumers due to problems with the antenna. If you remember, Apple took a lot of public criticism with the iPhone 4's antenna design.

In fact, Consumer Reports gave both versions of the iPhone 4 (GSM and CDMA) failing scores because of the issue, but they seem to see Apple's tablets in a different light. They put the iPad 2 up against several competitors and the results shouldn't surprise you.

The iPad 2 went up against the likes of Dell, Motorola, Samsung, and several other tablets varying in price range. Even the original iPad was thrown in for comparison. Each tablet was tested on 17 different criteria including portability, ease of use, touch screen responsiveness, and many others.

Surprisingly, the original iPad beat out most of the competitors, and actually tied with the Motorola Xoom. The tablet from Motorola was the closest competitor to the iPad 2, but recorded awful scores for ease of use and portability. The iPad 2 easily trumped the rest of the competition, making it Consumer Reports' top tablet.

The test results confirm Apple's theory behind the iPad 2's success. Consumers don't care about hardware stats. It's things like ease of use and portability that really appeal to customers looking to buy a tablet. They are looking to browse the internet and play mindless games, who cares if the thing has 4 processors? Although the competition is getting better, it seems as though they're still missing the boat.

What do you think?

Apple Once Again Sends Jailbreak Community a Direct Message

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

A few days ago, we reported that Scion, a subsidiary of Toyota, was trying to break into the jailbreak scene with innovative marketing methods. They were the first major corporation to direct positive attention to the community, since its inception in 2007.

This was exciting for a couple of reasons. First, a major corporation advertising in Cydia certainly made jailbreaking seem more legitimate. It also meant that other companies might follow Scion's lead.

Multiple major brand names marketing to jailbroken devices would have meant more recognition and credibility to the community as a whole. It appears that the silence from Apple was too good to be true. ModMyi is reporting today that they were asked by Apple to remove the Scion theme from their Cydia repo....