If you walk around with the Internet in your pants, chances are it comes courtesy of AT&T. The communications giant has twice as many smartphone users as any other carrier in the United States. They are also industry leaders when it comes to so-called 'integrated devices', which are texting and picture messaging phones with QWERTY keyboards and a load of IM applications. Almost 32% of AT&T's business comes from these 'integrated' phones.

This new info comes courtesy of an independent market research study conducted by Bloomberg. AT&T intends to use this to kick off a new ad campaign that "highlights its smartphone leadership and illustrates the many ways AT&T customers stay productive using smartphones.."

That's a pretty funny claim for them to make, considering AT&T's flagship smartphone, the iPhone, is the ultimate goofing-off device. AT&T claims that their massive share of the market is due to the fact that they have the "nation's fastest" 3G network, which is a claim that virtually every mobile carrier has made at one point or another. They also claim an "industry-leading lineup" of 'iconic' smartphones.

I think it's much more likely that AT&T's success comes from the fact that they're the oldest and largest carrier in the smartphone game. They have brand recognition behind them and they're also the company that launched the iPhone, which until recently was the highest selling smartphone in the country. AT&T is not at the head of the industry because they have the best technology; they're there because they made some very smart marketing decisions and a very profitable business deal with Apple.