America Online and Danger, the maker of hiptop are getting cozy, News.com reports. No surprise given that most HipTop users try and use their little device for IMing their pals than actually making calls. Perhaps, AOL should try and work with some other VoIP company to develop peer-2-peer voice networks (sort of like Nextel push-button chat.) And then AOL could team-up with Danger to develop a special AOL version of portable instant message device. I know that MSN Messenger is more suitable for SIP-functionality. AOL certainly needs to get its act together.

“IM use has been very high over the last five months. More than half of the subscribers use IM, and their usage is growing by 40 percent (each month). It’s almost an SMS equivalent,” Hank Nothhaft, Danger CEO told News.com. On another note, Danger also demoed its color-sidekick device at a wireless trade show yesterday. My sources tell me that T-Mobile, which sells HipTop will soon be selling the color device.