Comparison

Sphero Play vs Media Base

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Sphero Play

Control and play with various Sphero robots using a single application. Explore multiple drive modes, engage in robot-controlled games, and learn basic programming through a block-based interface.

Highlights
  • Multiple drive modes (joystick, tilt, voice)
  • Robot-controlled games
  • Block Drive programming
  • Sports-themed drive modes
  • Voice control
Features
Read full description

Drive and play games from ONE app with your Sphero Mini, Sphero 2.0, SPRK, SPRK+, BOLT, and BOLT+. Connect and control your robots with several exciting drive modes, use your robot as a controller to play games, or try out Block Drive for an intro to programming with colorful blocks. Features include: DRIVE MODES Drive your robots several ways with the Sphero Play app. Use the joystick and slingshot controls, tilt your device, or use your voice. Our sports-themed drive modes keep things fun with the ability to swing your device to "golf"*, or flick to "kick" your robot. BLOCK DRIVE PROGRAMMING Learn programming basics by controlling your robot with colorful movement and light blocks. GAMES Use your robot as a controller to shoot your way through space, race your vehicle through a tunnel avoiding obstacles and scoring points, or rotate your ball to destroy a polygon of bricks. Need robots? We know a guy. Visit sphero.com and order today. *This mode is not available on iPads.

About

Media Base

Catalog your physical and digital media collections, including books, movies, music, and games. Automatically populate details by scanning barcodes or searching titles. Track your progress, rate items, and get personalized recommendations from your own backlog.

Highlights
  • Catalog books, comics, movies, TV shows, anime, music, and games
  • Barcode scanning for quick entry
  • Automatic metadata and cover art population
  • Track read, watched, listened, or played status
  • Rate and review your collection items
  • Personalized daily recommendations from your backlog
  • Private by design, no account or ads
Features
Read full description

Media Base is a personal collection tracker for the physical and digital media you actually own - books, comics, movies, TV shows, anime, vinyl/CDs, and tabletop games, all cataloged in one place instead of scattered across seven different mental lists. SEVEN CATEGORIES, ONE APP Books and Comics/Manga with real ISBN lookup. Movies, TV Shows, and Anime with rich metadata and a direct link to see where to watch. Vinyl/CD with genre and artist details. Tabletop Games covering both board games and card games. Every category supports the fastest way to add something that actually works for it - a barcode scan, a title search, or typing it in by hand. AUTOMATIC, NOT TEDIOUS Add something by scanning its barcode or searching its title, and the cover photo, genre, and other details fill in on their own. Prefer to add your own photo instead? That works too, on any entry. TRACK WHAT MATTERS TO YOU Mark anything as read, watched, listened to, or played, and rate and review it. Filter your whole collection by genre, search by title, and jump around a long list with a real A-Z index. A daily "try this next" suggestion helps surface something from your own backlog instead of just adding to it. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no login, no ads, no tracking. Everything you add is stored on your own device. Media Base looks up titles from a few public sources (TMDb, Discogs, BoardGameGeek, Open Library, Google Books) to fill in details automatically, but never sends anything about you - only the title or barcode you're searching for.

Screenshots

Sphero Play4 screens
Media Base4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Sphero Play at 37K against Media Base's 1. Sphero Play also leads on device support (3 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Media Base holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sphero Play has 37K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Sphero Play versus Media Base: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSphero PlayMedia Base
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (37K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings37K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size193 MB41 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperSphero, Inc.Jaxon Harvey

Bugs and requests

Sphero Play

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Joystick controls not working as expected
  • Alignment issues causing unexpected movement

Requested features

4 requests
  • More games and activities
  • Support for additional Sphero products (e.g. Ollie, BB-8)
  • Improved aiming and control precision
  • Camera integration to see the Sphero's view

Media Base

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Sphero Play

No in-app purchases

None

Media Base

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sphero Play free?
Sphero Play is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Media Base free?
Media Base is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sphero Play or Media Base?
Media Base is rated higher. Sphero Play averages 4.8 out of 5 from 37K ratings, while Media Base averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Sphero Play or Media Base have ads?
Neither Sphero Play nor Media Base shows ads.

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