I cannot agree more on this. I am facing a similar predicament and with me being here in India right now around my mom.

I have taught her how to copy and paste files from PC to USB drive. She is a teacher, speaks english and is generally adept at other things. But, she just cannot grasp how to navigate file systems, the menus, the basic actions needed to move things around. Needless to say I have to explain them over and over again.

However, when she uses my iphone/ipad she finds is remarkably simple and easy to navigate. The underlying theme is the simplicity through limitation. The less there is to know, the easier it is to deal with. There is clearly a space for tablets for simple minds.