The author is correct by making the notion that the target audience is a bit unclear - but fails to see that a netbook is not a *cross between* a smartphone and a notebook, except for maybe size and form factor. The point is, if I wanted a truly portable notebook I had to shell out lot$ of fund$ to get an ultraportable, which I would use for very-very menial tasks (like the occasional document, web, skype, etc) when on the go. So, it's not smartphone vs notebook. It's notebook without the bulk and cost. Of course you don't want to type or surf 8 hours on it or compile Qt. For those puroposes you DO HAVE an alternative, you just need to add a 1000$ to get it in the same form factor.

In other words (when we are throwing analogies at each other), the author tries to analyse a bobcat excavator is comparing it to a Krupp Bagger and a Trowel. Fair enough, he concludes that the bobcat sucks both as a Bager and as a trowel. Except he has no use (or idea of the use) of a bobcat excavator.