Microsoft debuts Xim photo-sharing app
Microsoft Research's FUSE Labs is making available a new free phone app that makes photo sharing easier.
The new app, Xim (pronounced "Zim"), allows users to share photos across devices without having to pass their phones around.
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Users don't need to have the Xim app to see shared photos. But Xim does require (for now) a U.S. phone number, allowing users to use email to "Xim" to anyone with a smartphone. The Xims are viewable in browsers and expire after about an hour.
To create a Xim, a user does need the Xim app. Starting today, October 8, Xim apps are available for Windows Phones and Android phones; an iOS version is coming soon. The Xim creator can choose anywhere from one to up to 50 photos from a camera roll or another third party service like Dropbox, Facebook or Instagram, and then choose whom to invite via a text or emailed invitation.
Those invited into a Xim can swipe, pan and zoom together, according to Microsoft's blog post explaining the new Xim app.
Earlier this summer, there were reports that Microsoft Research was building a Snapchat competitor. It turned out that app, WindUp, was meant to be "for research purposes only," according to Microsoft officials.
Microsoft did make WindUp — which allowed sharing of images, videos, text and audio snippets for "a finite period of time" — available to Windows Phone users. It's not clear from Microsoft's blog post if Xim built on any of WindUp's concepts or technologies.