maybe. remember when Apple was going to fade out of the computer business because they refused to make a $200 netbook? do you see anybody making $200 netbooks these days? everybody makes airbook clones at airbook prices.
Netbooks were superlightweight computers you could take anywhere, just like the tablet market the iPad created. Most people complained that the netbooks were underpowered toys with tiny batteries. The first iPad addressed both of those concerns successfully.
Sure, that's what they were supposed to be. However, my argument is that to most people they were just cheap computers, for both senses of the word cheap.