How can I make Android remember default apps after upgrades? After choosing a default program for an action, every time an app gets updated that relates to that action, the OS unnecessarily asks which program to use.  I can't be the only one to be aggravated by this defect. 

It's especially irritating for apps that get updated frequently and serve multiple intents.

Here is the scenario:


User installs app (for instance, a new web browser-Dolphin)
User performs intent (for instance clicking a hyperlink from an email)
Android OS asks user which app to use.
User selects Dolphin browser, checks check box at the bottom of the popup window with the label "Use As Default" and selects new web browser app.  
Android Market installs new update for Dolphin.
User performs same intent as #2 (clicking a hyperlink from an email)
Android OS forgets "use as default" setting and Android OS asks user which app to use.  [Steps 3-7 repeat ad infinitum] 


The bug occurs at step 7.

I submitted a bug report for this issue.  In the meantime, is there an app that works around it?
No, you can't work around it unless you make changes to the android sources and compile a custom ROM. The Installer Service is a core part of the system and cannot be replaced or overridden like other apps can.

This is by design. It will only ask you again if one of the apps that was updated is one that has other apps that can perform the same task. 

The same thing happens if you install a new application that can perform the task of another app. This is because updating an application is actually just like installing a "new" application. There is no difference in what happens when you install a new application on your device or if you update an existing application. So if there was a way to have it "always remember" this option, then when you installed a completely new application that you want to use, you would never get presented with the option to use it.

Lets use the launcher as an example. You use GO Launcher for a long time and you have it set as the default. Then you decide you want to use the new Foo Launcher, so you install it. Now when you go to the launcher you are asked what launcher you want to use. If you set it to "always remember", you would not be presented with the option and you (or maybe other users) would consider this a poor experience because now they have to figure out how to change the launcher to the one they just installed.