Microsoft Research releases Xim, a photo sharing app with a twist

Microsoft Research is always working on unique projects that span many different applications. From disappearing messages to streaming online games, there is no limit to what they cover. And their latest project, Xim, seems like any other photo sharing app, until you look a little deeper.

Xim is Microsoft Research's latest application and it allows you to easily share photos with any of your contacts. While there are dozens of apps that can already do this, Xim lets you have control over the experience.

What we mean is that when you create a Xim and add your photos and send out links to the Xim to your friends, you control how they scroll through the photos. Think of it as a modern take on the slideshow but instead of having one screen in the middle of the room, everyone can see the photo on their own device.

For example, imagine you are sitting around a large dinner table with a bunch of friends and you want to show them a few pictures. Rather than pass your phone around, you create a Xim, invite everyone at the table, and then you can control the speed at which the photos show up on their phone as you talk about them. If you watch the video above, you'll get a better understanding of the app.

More so, the Xim will go away after a determined timeline, so the images to do not stay permanently on the end user's phone and fill up their storage.

While we don't expect Xim to be the next Instagram, it is a unique way to show off a slideshow - and some of its functionality could well end up in other Microsoft apps in the future. Xim was designed by Microsoft Research’s FUSE Labs, which focuses on delivering new social, real-time, and media rich experiences for home and work.

The app is available for Windows Phone, iOS and Android.