On my iPod Touch I’ve created a folder that I call “Crapple” and I just dumped all of the programs in there that they won’t let me uninstall, so it’s not too much of an issue for me (now that they let you create folders).

On my Android the bloat was really annoying, especially since the stock way the apps are displayed is a “drawer” that lists everything on the phone in alphabetical order, so without third party apps you you have to go through everything to get to the app you’re looking for.

Having said that though, because you can tweak every aspect of your phone, I have. I’ve installed third-party apps to allow me crate real-time widgets, apply labels, folders and shortcuts and more to slice and dice the apps so it’s not a factor anymore. I know you mentioned there may be some performance ramifications to bloat but I haven’t noticed any, of course I wouldn’t know how fast it would otherwise run since I’ve not seen it without the bloat…