Yes it is on purpose. The idea is to think about the more general theme of editing modes, not the discussion about the iPhone the article narrows the topic to.
You cite a piece detailing how the use of unseen modes makes interacting with a computer difficult and infer this as a boon to a strongly moded editor that offers nothing resembling the sort of modeless simplicity the author was advocating. The saving grace given in the article for modes was that they be evident and easily disabled and that they be fully under the control of the user to toggle on and off.
Emacs modes come closer to this than vi. When you type it enters text at the cursor. All special modes are entered via holding key chords. Modes which are not done at the end of the chord are generally recorded in the status line so it is evident they are active.
At any rate, the piece, having nothing to do with this traditional browser debate, though of token interest in itself was slighted by your title used to link it.
I get that your title is sort of a joke (I hope), but if you just go by this article then it seems to me that it's suggesting that Emacs is more "usable" than vi! Emacs uses quasi-modes like crazy. Maybe I didn't understand.
