So...what can consoles do that PCs can't?

Not a thing.  Yet they still sell very well.  It's foolish to write off handhelds simply because there are alternatives.

"what can consoles do that PCs can't?"

Usability is better on consoles, simple plug in and play mentality. They also act as better media hubs because of their accessibility. Not to mention they're much cheaper. 

"It's foolish to write off handhelds simply because there are alternatives"

I agree. I think phones will replace handhelds in around 5 years because eventually the'll be capable of everything a new handheld would be able to do and more, and everyone that could afford a new handheld, will most likely have a smartphone by then, which the'll already be using for gaming. They'll already have a huge catalouge of games, both casual and "hardcore" and the'll be able to produce great looking graphics. Devs will want to produce games for the very capable, constantly evolving platform that most people (who can afford expensive tech like handhelds) already have. These are a few reasons.

So it's not because they are altenatives like PC and Consoles where they both have their pros and cons, it's because in a few years phones will most probably be vastly better and cost-effective altenatives. 

hahaha .. phones replacing dedicated gaming portables.. gtfo!.. heavy games will drain the battery out like a mofo.. and when it does how the fcuk am I gonna make calls.. shieet ppl.. where is the logic..

.. vita is the only doom I can see here.. as Rol said.. Gamespot ran the poll on its audience.. the exact target audience of the vita.. uh-oh.. woops.

2500 GameSpot readers? That's one reliable polling base.

There are two things which I can't see Phones over coming to completely be a viable alternative to handhelds:

Controls - Have you ever played IoS or Android games? They're pretty limited by being just a touch screen, and as long as that's always the case the software just won't ever evolve beyond stuff like Infinity Blade and Angry Birds. Creative people will find better ways around it and make 'new experiences' and whatnot but ultimately you're never going to have games at the quality of Mario Land 3d, Uncharted: GA etc as it's just not possible.  I tried playing GTA III on my Galaxy S2... Never again lol.

Software - This has sort of been covered, but the reality at the moment is an iPhone / Android game can charge $2 unles you're something really special. You're making like $1 per sale... there's no way to budget for making stuff any bigger at the moment. People are trying to get that price up - but I can't see it happening. When you consider VIta just introduced $50 handheld games, and you're looking at games which can make some x25 more money per sale. This very much limits the type of software people can put on appstores to stuff that is cheap to make.

I mean people don't talk of phones killiing Consoles... cause the experiences in the games is just too different.. I think the same applies here.

 It's an iffy one, and something which I think no one really has a clue to predict as it's impossible to tell how people will react. I sort of think this generation should been seen as the biggest opportunity to Sony and Nintendo - more people are playing video games on handhelds then ever before in history. If they convince those people that instead of Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies they want to play whatever they're offering they could end up with more sales then ever - but of course they may lose sales the other way.

"Now, by a show of hands, which of you developers out there are going to want to make a game for the 3DS or PS Vita when you could be hitting an installed base roughly one kajillion times bigger? I'll give you a minute to think."

I don't even need a minute to get the right answer.
Phones are bought for several features, including playing cheap games.
Portable are bought for several features but first and foremost for playing games.
And no one would pay 30-40$ for a game on the phone.
WTF????
Without dedicated handhelds, the phones wouldn't have the cheap handheld and console ports, so without handhelds the market would collapse sooner or later.

I am so tired of reading this bullshit. Saying 3DS sold 8.whatever million but other forms sold 65 million or whatever it said is completely relative. 3DS still outsold its predecessor meaning those 65 million in sales are NOT affecting dedicated hand held sales. Period.

The problem has always been price. Not many accepted paying thee inflated prices of 3DS and PSVita because hand helds are supposed to be cheaper than consoles and for the first time, this was not the case. Value has nothing to do with pricing and Nintendo and Sony absolutely confused the two as interchangeable; big mistake.

When Vita takes a price cut, it will move units. Maybe not on 3DS levels, but enough to dismiss this tablet/iphone/iOs craze. I remember when myspace/facebook gaming was supposed to kill off console gaming because, "soccer moms use myspace/facebook more than they will use Wii". This trend of doom and gloom is eerily similar to that phase. They were incorrect then, they are incorrect in thinking hand held gaming is phasing out now. For shame.

I just don't think handhelds will be a wise business decision for anyone (with the exception of maybe nintendo solely based on their IPs) in 5 years for the reasons I stated earlier and the fact that the market that want in-depth gaming experiences on a dedicated handheld seems to be shrinking, and more and more games being developed for IOS/ANDROID are in-depth "hardcore" games. I think the controls argument is valid, and it's really the only one that holds any weight but I don't know if handhelds can be justified by controls alone in the future or if controls will even be a problem on IOS/ANDROID devices in 5 years. 

We'll see.

I'm gonna have to ask you to backup that fact please.