The Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone bandwagon rolls on. At this year’s MWC, a cross-section of execs from operators, to handset makers, to content players were singing its praises—backing them up with some interesting stats.

— First up, Google (NSDQ: GOOG).  On Wednesday, Google’s head of mobile operations Vic Gundotra told the FT that it had seen 50 times more searches on the iPhone than any other mobile device.  It was enough for Google to do a doubletake. Gundotra said, “We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again.” If this growth continues and other handset makers make accessing the mobile web easier, Gundotra believes the number of internet searches will overtake the wired internet in the next few years.

— AT&T (NYSE: T) mobility chief executive Ralph de la Vega, in a keynote speech at MWC, called the iPhone a “game changer,” effectively being the breakthrough device that taught consumers that there was more to do on their phones that just make calls. Dow Jones reported that some 95 percent of AT&T iPhone customers regularly surf the internet. Even more interesting, 30 percent of those using the iPhone were new surfers to the mobile web. The operator revealed previously that the ARPU of iPhone users is double that of regular subscribers because of the sizable data packages they take on top of their voice plan. De la Vega noted that data revenues had grown from $2.7 billion in 2005 to $6.9 billion in 2007, adding “and that’s only going to increase.” Still, before Apple gets (too) uppity de la Vega said iPhone wasn’t “the only game in town when it comes to digital content.” The operator is working with Nokia (NYSE: NOK), BlackBerry, and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) along with other device makers, to better embed mobile entertainment services into phones.
— Even rival handset manufacturers are appreciative of the iPhone. Businessweek’s Jack Ewing notes that Nokia Markets EVP Anssi Vanjoki has been banging on for some time that iPhone was actually a good thing for overall sales of multimedia phones, including its N95, but that he thought the company was trying to “to stick a happy face on a serious competitive threat.” But at MWC, he found other handset makers chiming in. Samsung VP of marketing Younghee Lee: “The iPhone has created a new sector. We appreciate it a lot.”  Samsung VP of marketing Florian Seiche: “I think we benefited from the big marketing effort—all the attention, especially directed at consumers, to change their perception of what a phone should be.”

—The touchscreen: has any handset maker NOT announced a touchscreen version? The AFP reports that analysts first thought Apple’s decision to use a touchscreen as risky. A year later, Nokia, SonyEricsson, Samsung, LG (SEO: 066570) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) have all showed off or are launching touchscreen devices—even RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) has not ruled it out. Those chastened analysts are now saying that iPhone’s touchscreen has “set the bar for how easy it is to interact with multimedia.”

— Finally, an interesting conversation with MTV Digital Media VP Gideon Bierer as reported in the Hollywood Reporter shows the traction that Apple’s iTunes has with consumers and how that’s being translated onto mobile devices. Bierer reports that MTV sells more videos through iTunes than it does through 50 mobile carriers combined outside the U.S. This, despite the fact that in order to download a video from iTunes to a mobile device, consumers have to “sideload” it—that is, download the service first to their PC’s, then to their mobile phones. Bierer sees this as evidence that mobile operators need to get it together and figure out how to give consumers more easily accessed content services. Indeed, as they dally over the matter, handset makers—risking the ire of the operators—are rushing in with their own services, such as Nokia, with its Music Store and upcoming Comes With Music play, and Sony Ericsson’s music service PlayNow Arena.