Valve has little to worry about as new Steam Deck rival arrives

I'm no fanboy but Windows just sucks for anything portable. At first I was exited to see how manufacturers would pivot to adopt linux for their portables. Now it's just watching flop after flop.

Every single one of the competitors I've seen makes at least two of the following mistakes, each of which means they don't stand a chance:

• Windows
• Display resolution > 720p
• No trackpads
• Awful layout

Unless it runs Linux it doesn't stand a chance. The moment you decide to sell a handheld gaming console running Windows you doom it to failure. It's the worst OS possible for that purpose.

Honestly just shows how dialed in the steam deck is, it's why I won't ever buy one of their competitors.

The thing is, none of the competitors and rivals are competitors and rivals to Valve. Every sold device that can play Steam games, is a win. Unlike traditional consoles, Valve only benefits from competition. The Steam Deck kicked off a trend and made handheld PCs popular for the "masses" (relatively speaking off course).

Besides that, any handheld PC with Windows is just not at the same level of Steam Deck. The few more games that are playable is a plus, but the entire system is such a downgrade for a gaming first device.

i see a keyboard , but no track pads. track pads are really versatile and a key feature of the deck. this keyboard doesn't look to comfortable to use either. Maybe it's ok ish if you put down the device on flat ground and are seated, but typing on this thing while holding it in your hands is going to require some amazing thumb agility.

I have a small Bluetooth keyboard paired with my steam deck that I use whenever I need to input longer stretches of text. it works out just fine.

The inclusion of the keyboard is a little perplexing. On paper it makes sense that a lot of PC games are built for or work best with a keyboard, but that's because you're using stuff as hotkeys, not because you're typing. How do you comfortably do that with this form factor? I feel like a panel of fewer programmable buttons would've made more sense.

Is Valve even truly interested in being part of the competition? All their hardware offerings seem more like prototypes or proofs of concept, and the details for other manufacturers to build on the idea are available. Like their strategy to inject competition in these spheres is more just lighting a fire under the asses of other manufacturers to get them making the hardware instead of Valve.

Valve's money comes from the service, not the device. The more there are, the better.

To be honest, any hardware company can't really compete with valve toe to toe since valves can cut cost and sell at a loss. But I am interested in how the so-called steam competitor would make the same handheld device. I'm waiting for you Tim Epic.

I had a Kyocera Slider, once. I loved to open and close that thing, and it was basically a fidget device. I also had an LG Chocolate 2 and 3, and the physical keyboard was fantastic.

This handheld incorporates both, but I really don't know if it can work in this form factor. Part of the reason it worked on the phones is they were relatively small, but with a wide handheld with joycons on either side, it seems like it would be clunky.

Are we not going to talk about the empty PC case with just fans that are on like why yes it looks kinda cool but could you not have found a real PC just for the pitcher?

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It's crazy that Microsoft hasn't made an interface for Windows for handhelds like this. They're leaving money on the table.

Windows is dog shit.

What a strange design. Why the keyboard instead of how the steam deck does it? I never even use the touch screen. I type by selecting the letters with the dpad. Its... strange. Also no trackpads. I mean some people could like it? It just looks a bit fucked. Like someone glued their kids tablet to a controller/keyboard abomination from aliexpress.

I got a onexplayer for like $600 and it has the 7840u in it. No matter how you slice it, the 7840u is much more powerful than the steam deck. However, it doesn't do well in low tdp. That's what the steam deck is best at - low tdp gaming and battery life.

But so long as I'm near an outlet, I can play more AAA games and on much higher resolution and graphics than the steam deck for however long I'd like. On battery, only about 3-4 hours vs 6-8 hours on a steam deck.

This keyboard seems worse than any virtual keyboard 😅

It's gotta have a massive battery unless it's running AAA games for like 15 minutes...

I like the keyboard. If this could be incorporated in SD2 that'd be great. Improved upon, of course.

Edit: actually idk. Looks super unwieldy and a pain in the ass to use.