We might think that there are enough photo-messaging apps out there, but CoolIris, the maker of the titular photo-browsing app, wants to show you just how great visual messages can be.  Rather than trying to add more photo-messaging functionality to its existing app, CoolIris decided to make an app that really focused on messaging rather than mess with an already successful media browser.  The result is the messaging app, BeamIt.  So, why is BeamIt relevant when there are already multiple photo-messaging apps?  CoolIris argues that while other popular messaging apps are designed more as utilities, BeamIt offers an improved, higher functioning experience which users can’t experience with other apps.  

At first glance, BeamIt does not appear to be anything novel.  You get the standard options to create groups, and then share messages and photos within the group.  However, instead of the shrunken-down version that is the industry norm, BeamIt’s photos are shared at full resolution.  According to CoolIris CEO Soujanya Bhumkar, BeamIt can offer both speed and beauty in their messages thanks to data binding technology and dataflow, instead of having to treat “beauty and speed as a zero sum game,” like other apps are required to do.  

Another different feature of BeamIt is that it streamlines browsing large groups of photos and sharing them.  Instead of having to tell fluffybunny99 that you like their windmill photo from 3 days ago, you can just comment on the individual photo.  In addition, you are not limited to sharing only with other users: you can share photos with people via email and mobile web who are not using BeamIt.

Finally, CoolIris gives you a full offline experience as well.  In addition to being able to browse the photos and messages you can download to your device, you can also comment and upload, and enjoy as your app automatically syncs next time it is online.  This is a great perk for markets like China and India where CoolIris is experiencing significant growth among markets with data-conscious users. 

CoolIris launched BeamIt this week on iOS, and is planning both Android and web versions.  The current app is free of charge, with CoolIris planning to offer a premium subscription with additional features down the road.  We shall see how BeamIt fares in the competitive world of photo-messaging.  

Original article can be found at Techcrunch.