A patent does not mean 'do it and die'. It means 'you have to ask/pay me if you want to do it'. That's probably how the Pre got it, and, as many Nokians pointed out, Nokia also has a number od patents which are used by Apple, so never say never.

How easy would it be to implement that functionality into Symbian or Maemo apps is a different matter (think Hildonization is a fuss ? Wait till you see multitouch !)