Alrite, first of all I apologise if this is old, but just recently found out from a classmate that you could actually make do without the iPhone home button, it can be annoying at times to press the button and for some reason doesn't works.
The trick is you can now with IOS 5.0 make use of a virtual home button and its more than just a button, you can do different gestures and also like lock screen etc.
Go to General --> Accessibility --> AssistiveTouch (Turn this option ON)
After doing so, you should see the virtual button at either left or right of your screen, you can move it anywhere up or down, left or right using your finger hold it down and move to your desired position.
Have fun