I suspect Sony is being realistic here: there are an awful lot of people of want some DSLR quality. They have been buying low end DSLRs by the million. Yet, my experience is that they are then impacted by two things: they operate the cameras on Auto, and they leave them at home because they are bulky.
The NEX cameras are, in theory, nice for that audience. But - there is no excuse for the menu based system itself being awkward and unintuitive.
My GF1 is very, very effective on Intelligent Auto. I never use the setting because I am seeking a particular style, but it does work well. Shifting to a particular mode, plus changing other key settings can be done intuitively without removing the camera from my eye: I prefer buttons to menus for the speed and flexibility.
Others prefer, or may be more familiar with menus - but at least make them work well.
A friend who has tried the NEX cameras questions the responsiveness. In his view they are slower than some high end small sensor cameras.