Edit.

It also functions as a toaster. That's something Sony and MS can't copy!

Nobody knows. Nintendo themselves probably also doesn't know.

Duh. Dog-ignoring software.

In a way, yes, but I really don't know what happened with the 3G Vita. One reason it failed was due to the lack of support for texting and calling, and no actual online gaming. However, Sony and AT&T talked about a 4G Vita that would open that up, and then it all went silent and Sony cancelled the 3G Vita. I really think the old gaurd at Sony did not want Vita killing off the Xperia brand, and killed the Vita to save Xpeira. Which has turned out to be a disaster bigger than the PS3, becuase they have lost 3 billion on Xperia since Vita launched, and unlike PS3, they will never turn that ship around. That is why you don't dump billions into supporting a competitors OS and Ecosystem, something you would think they would have learned from the Vaio deal.

On the brighter side, Nintendo has no reason not to make a 4G Switch, and give it full support. Game devices are all they do, and mobile is their bread and butter. What better way way for them to build a brand than to build it around a always connected mobile device. If Switch is connected, I have no doubt it will outsell the DS lifetime. If they continue to deliver more powerful Switchs in the future, and make the base model more effecient, then they will have a massive brand on their hands. 

Here is one thing to consider. Every Switch does not have to be sold with the base Unit. The Base unit can be a bundle item, with additional Switches being sold seperate. Everyone in the home has their own Switch, and can plug it into the base unit to jump to the big screen at any time.This way they can also realease upgraded models yearly, that scale games just like Smartphones, and PS4/XBO. You turn in your old Switch for a new one plus some cash, and it plugs right into the same dock as the original model. That is the vision I have of the Switch as a Phone/Handheld/Console.

Yeah, alot of people seem to imagine something like that.  I don't think it actually makes sense.
Because any gaming device needs a way to be powered, a charger.
That is the largest component of the base unit, other than that it's just some pass-thrus for HDMI, USB?
There is no major cost they are saving by offering a handheld without base unit, so the end price is no different.
The plastic on the case is a bit larger and more complicated than you would expect for a charging adaptor.
Maybe it has a fan.  That's about it.  Not really enough to make it's exclusion even $50 cheaper.  So why bother?
The laptop I'm typing on came with some "dock" with port expansion, etc.  Never used it.  Never opened it's packaging.
I'm sure the vast majority of people who bought this model are the same.  It already has 4 USB.
But the dock doesn't really cost enough that there is significant savings from excluding it, and it is attractive to some.
Selling a gaming device without means to be charged is just so narrow a market it isn't worth having a separate SKU,
which must be tracked separately, and retailers must stock separately, etc, all for a trivial difference in cost.

Nothing.... literally nothing.

I'm not sure they had Sony and MS in mind when they thought about someone copying their idea.

Nintendo already sells the New 3DS without a charger, so it wouldn't be to far fetched. However, I think they will change that with Switch. This is their chance to make a big impact on the market and they won't want to screw that up. I expect every Switch to come with a mobile charger even if it has the base unit. It only makes since to give the unit every chance of succeeding, escpecially early. 

Perhapps I am wrond, and the Switch base will be so cheap, that the base won't be worthseperating from the unit. However, I can see a very WiiU like future where people break the mobile unit, and are not pleased to get a new base with their replacement. I think it is a smarter business move to sell the Base and the mobile unit seperate, and be as consumer freindly as possible.

January 12th