I've been using iPhone for a year, and this seems perfectly intuitive for me. Maybe this is a bad assumption - but most people have common applications on a page or in a folder. Remembering home screens should make it easier to access other applications that are USUALLY used with the current one.
For example, I group all my work (let's say .doc, .xlsm, .ppt) into one folder. When I exit or alt tab, should it switch to the last thing I was on, or should it go to my desktop?
You only need to hit Home once anyway and the bit about the double tap is a little silly. A simple tap on the screen will get you out of the folder, and a finger swipe is a reliable method to change screens. I use my phone A LOT: text, email, twitter, fb, linkedin, lal, bloomberg, fxtrade, google voice, skype, and calender on a daily basis... and it's organized in patterns, so it minimizes browsing time.
For example, I group all my work (let's say .doc, .xlsm, .ppt) into one folder. When I exit or alt tab, should it switch to the last thing I was on, or should it go to my desktop?
You only need to hit Home once anyway and the bit about the double tap is a little silly. A simple tap on the screen will get you out of the folder, and a finger swipe is a reliable method to change screens. I use my phone A LOT: text, email, twitter, fb, linkedin, lal, bloomberg, fxtrade, google voice, skype, and calender on a daily basis... and it's organized in patterns, so it minimizes browsing time.