On the iPad, you can avoid the home button altogether. A 3-fingered squeeze gets you to the home screen, and a 3-fingered upswipe gets you the task list.
Thanks for the tips - quite useful! However, I think that this reliance on gestures means that the usability gap will widen between those who are "in the know" and those who aren't. If iOS developers only use the shortcuts, they may not notice the annoyances of the default experience.