GLOBE Observer vs CB1 Blockly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GLOBE Observer
Contribute to real scientific research by making environmental observations. Document clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, and trees using your mobile device. Your data supports scientists worldwide, including NASA and NOAA.
- Make environmental observations
- Document clouds
- Map mosquito habitats
- Record land cover
- Measure tree height
- Contribute to scientific research
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The GLOBE Observer app enables you to make observations of your environment. GLOBE Observer is the app of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. The GLOBE Program is an international science and education program that provides students and people of all ages worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. By using the GLOBE Observer app, you contribute scientific data to your community, students and scientists worldwide, including researchers at NASA, NOAA, and other science research institutions. GLOBE Observer allows all users to contribute observations of clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, and trees. Trained and certified users can also use the app to submit additional environmental measurements from all GLOBE protocols. GLOBE Clouds allows observers to make regular observations of Earth’s cloud cover and compare them to satellite observations. With GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper, users locate mosquito habitats, observe and identify mosquito larvae, and reduce the potential threat of mosquito borne disease. GLOBE Land Cover is designed to allow users to document what is on the land (trees, grass, buildings, etc.). GLOBE Trees asks users to estimate a tree’s height by taking pictures of trees with their device and answering a few questions. Additional capabilities may be added. Visit us at https://www.globe.gov and https://observer.globe.gov.
CB1 Blockly
This app enables users to program robots built with a specific engineering kit. It uses a visual, drag-and-drop interface to create commands that control motors, lights, and sounds based on sensor input.
- Visual programming with drag-and-drop blocks
- Control motors, LEDs, and buzzer
- Utilize various sensor inputs
- Bluetooth connectivity to robots
- Save up to 20 custom programs
- Includes 10 preloaded demo programs
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CB1 Blockly Programming App for Robotics Workshop For use with the engineering kit “Robotics Workshop” by Thames & Kosmos CB1 Blockly is a visual programming app based on Blockly. It allows you to write programs to control the robots you build with the Robotics Workshop kit. You can write visual programs with drag-and-drop code blocks in the app and then send the programs to the CB1 core controller on your robot models to make the motors turn, the buzzer sound, and the LEDs flash. You can write programs that use sensor input from the light sensor, sound sensor, distance (ultrasonic) sensor, and touch sensors to command your robots to interact with their environments. App Features • Connect to your models via Bluetooth connection. • Programming mode lets you script and save up to 20 programs. • Ten demo programs are preloaded to work specifically with the ten robot models in the kit. • A simple, visual programming language lets you use input data from two touch sensors, distance (ultrasonic) sensor, light sensor, sound sensor, and variable resistor knob to control four motors, 2 LEDs, and speaker. • Use the 64-page, step-by-step illustrated manual included in the kit to learn how to build the models and write the programs.
Screenshots
Verdict
GLOBE Observer and CB1 Blockly both sit at 3.1 stars, but that hides the real split: 34% of GLOBE Observer's written reviews are positive against 17% of CB1 Blockly's. GLOBE Observer also leads on ratings volume (86 vs 15) and device support (3 vs 1). CB1 Blockly's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CB1 Blockly holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GLOBE Observer has 86 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 34% of GLOBE Observer's written reviews are positive against 17% of CB1 Blockly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
GLOBE Observer ships an update every 2 months, CB1 Blockly every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GLOBE Observer | CB1 Blockly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (86 ratings) | 3.3 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.9% of reviews — better | 16.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 86 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NASA | T2T Inc. |
Customer experience
GLOBE Observer
CB1 Blockly
Bugs and requests
GLOBE Observer
Reported bugs
39 issues- Checking for updates loop
- 504 error on account creation
- Fails after step 5 in account creation
- Robot verification loop
- App crashes on opening
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- Observations not submitting (error exclamation mark)
- Interminable in-app required update
- Errors in data entry, observations not sending/deleting
- Invalid password errors
- Cloud observation chart images disappear
- No reply from support
- App doesn't open on iPhone
- Won't update
- Logged out, wrong password, account locked
- Data lost after system crash
- Cloud ID chart not loading properly
- Observations keep loading forever
- iPhone stuck on installing updates
- App crashes and never fully loads
- Can't get photos to upload
- User interface poorly designed
- No observations shown when there are
- No way to export data
- App is forever 'installing updates'
- Camera portion of data collection quit working
- No way to submit a report from 'Pictures'
- Compass won't calibrate
- Photo feature locks screen
- No button to take photo
- App crashes if location is not set
- Updates take too long
- Photo submission portal hopeless
- Native camera app has no prompts to submit photos
- 'Done' button does nothing
- 401 unknown error when sending reports
- App goes bonkers when attaching photo
- Screen flickers rapidly when attaching photo
- Cannot get out of camera within app
- Whirring wheel for update in progress for hours
Requested features
8 requests- Improve UI/UX design
- Add dark mode
- Better translation
- Notifications for satellite flyovers
- Integrate with WorldView or Google Earth
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- More explanation/examples for cloud types
- Export data in spreadsheet/GPS format
- Allow users to contribute design improvements
CB1 Blockly
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
GLOBE Observer
No in-app purchases
CB1 Blockly
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is GLOBE Observer free?
Is CB1 Blockly free?
Which has better reviews, GLOBE Observer or CB1 Blockly?
Do GLOBE Observer or CB1 Blockly have ads?
Which is updated more often, GLOBE Observer or CB1 Blockly?
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