I read the article too at Barns & Noble since the magazine cost $10.00 USD! Holy Cow!
If you disregard the scoring, the article gives alot of information about the bikes. This data can be used to actually buy the bike. In fact, if you disregard the scoring, you'll find they actually praised the Tikit more than the Brompton but they couldn't score it higher which is fine.
The reason they did not like the Birdy was the complex fold but didn't think it would be a problem over time. To the educated reader, if you didn't have the funds for a Brompton, Dawes and Dahon were the clear way to go. The high score on these bikes in comparison to the costly Brompton said much about their quality and value.