• January 12, 2005

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Danger Inc., a provider of wireless voice and messaging technology, announced Wednesday that its Hiptop wireless platform, used by T-Mobile for its Sidekick II, transmitted over 3 billion instant messages during 2004.

According to a recent Jupiter Research report, 22.8 billion short messaging service messages were sent by wireless carriers in 2004, and in September 2004, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that roughly 53 million people used instant messaging. Fifteen percent of these IM users sent messages using wireless technology, and 25 percent of the 18- to-27-year-old demographic used wireless messaging. "IM has clearly become a killer app for our users," stated Danger CEO Hank Nothhaft. Nothhaft predicts that if Danger's growth trends continue, their platform will support between 10 billion and 15 billion messages this year.

--Shankar Gupta