Yes there are (arguably) operational reasons for these omissions. Each design team for each model is going to make their own call on what their user group will want, what they'll be using the machine for, and they will also have a budget (of time and money). Put all that in balance, and choosing which 50 or so applications ship on a device isn't always a clear-cut decision.
But it shouldn't need to be this way. There is a lot of effort put into the customisation options on a device, from your wallpaper and ringtones to the application icons and screen fades and wipes. So why not have the same ability for your second line applications?
It's a given that apps like the web browser and messaging are going to be included – I'm more interested in what happens with apps such as Podcasting. The long term users looking to upgrade are going to notice the missing items and will likely be put off from moving; while the new users may not even know that these other apps exist. Whether that's a good or a bad thing can be discussed but it's not as if Nokia want people to think that their modern phones do less than previous designs.
So let me point out something and then suggest a way forward. It's not too difficult for programmers to handle one application running over a number of 3rd Edition and 5th Edition handsets. So why does it appear to be such a traumatic problem from the Nokia design teams?
Here's my suggestion. When you first switch your phone on, there already are some set-up things that have to be done. The date and time are obvious ones, as is setting up email. So why not have a (likely widget-driven) application that lists all those optional components, such as Podcasting, Nokia Messaging, Ovi Chat, and so on. You could even use it to promote the Ovi Store and certain third party applications – all with the requisite disclaimer. And behind it you have 'generic' versions of these not quite core applications which you know will happily run on all the devices out there.
Yes there would still be people at the manugfacturer going “we've not tested this to the nth degree so let's not flag it up as an option” because they know users won't read the disclaimer... but sometimes you have to make a bet when you don't have a perfect hand.
If you remove an application, you diminish the phone. Why you would want to do that remains a mystery to me. But by putting these applications back in, and via a customisation option that puts the user not only in control of their own hardware, but gives them the personalisation choices that make a phone into their phone, you create a far stronger emotional bond than a simple cookie cutter approach to the built in apps.
A small team of developers, sitting alongside each handset development team, checking compatibility and ensuring the widget used to drive this stays up to date – it shouldn't be too much to ask. Should it?
-- Ewan Spence, Nov 2009.