@wazd, I think that the it is an easy access to the dashboard that is needed by many users. The main reason is browsing in full-screen mode, where you have to slide out keyboard to switch applications (or to exit full screen).
The same goes for the phone application, for some it is important to have quick and direct access to it (don't really use it by myself).

A direct access to applications list is also an idea, I will take a look how this can be done. When the app gets a bit more mature I will add configuration options.