Could well be sloppy (or just speculative) journalism.

The trend at the low-to-mid end seems to be towards larger-screened devices that support social networking apps. Touch screens are perceived to be desireable as well, so if the price was right the device could be viable.

My understanding is that Meego is some way off being a polished, customer-ready product. Could a cheap Maemo device act as a stop-gap?