My device developed this issue for the first time after I had to reflash earlier today. I completely agree that this should be a configuration choice that is handled by the settings menu. This could and should be one of the nagging issues handled by the mysterious 1.3 release. Here's hoping.

I suggest the app Mymoves as an immediately available, and in my view, very high quality substitute. I have assigned a gesture for each of my quick launch apps, and voila, anywhere at all on the device, whether in an app, homescreen, feed, or multitasker, the app activates.

That said, I like the quick launch feature a lot and would like to see it repaired and improved. Heck, how about a different Mymoves gesture to scroll through different quick app configurations? Just kidding, let's just stick to what we're best at--the swipe.