Sorry, I can't post the images, they are from
digitalblasphemy.com (Well worth the very modest membership fee)
Yes, I realised a little while ago that you can leave the first screen blank. If you are doing your arranging in iTunes, leave one app behind on the first screen, and then drag it over on the phone.
It survives subsequent syncs, but I suspect it will remove the blank screen if you re-arange your icons in iTunes.