The shortcuts on the homescreen looked real useful (though they would depend on what the application developer decided to add as quick jumps), and I've done the "open message/back to list/open message/back to list" way too often
The finger would obscure part of the display, but it would likely leave enough uncovered that you have the information you need to decide whether you want to actually open the resource, don't want to, or want to act (using the contextual gesture things)
