Just to clarify, my original post did refer only to the LCD side. To me it is very cumbersome to have to use the back button all the time. A finger swipe would be so much more intuitive, especially since this is a touch screen device. I originally thought about it in connection to web browsing, but the same principle would hold true in other ways. If I have a pdf or Word document open, then open the app menu, then open the browser, it would be nice to be able to go back to the previous screen (or program as may be the case) with just a swipe.
As a less-elegant solution, an onscreen back button would be better than the clunky physical button.

Joe