So when you aren't stationary but on the go, you want to hold the device AND a keyboard AND a mouse? How many hands do you have?

Most of the PC games of the last 10 - 15 years are multiplatform games, which work totally fine with gamepad input. 

I actually keep on my 3DS, because it is much better portable and also has good games. The reason I love Switch is more on the docked than the portable side. Although I do love that I can take my Switch on vacations, that is clearly a step up from stationary consoles. I would say Switch is in the middle. And as some declare they would put Switch in their pockets - I don't. I use a carrying case and put it in my backpack. I only play it seated. The 3DS fits in a side pocket of my jacket and I can play it standing.

That said, Steam Deck although bulkier seems to fall in the same class: put in a carrying case inside the backpack and only played seated. Same goes for my (rather small) laptop by the way.

But more "demanding games" aren't "most games", when you have a library of compatible games which spans over 20 years.

I don't want to play the newest AAA games with many compromises (compared to my desktop PC with a much much faster GPU). Sure, I'll try some of them out to see how the Deck can handle it, but that's not my main focus.

I'm more interested into playing and replaying older stuff on it (6th gen, 7th gen + early 8th gen), for example the Mass Effect Trilogy, the Tomb Raider games from 2006 - 2013, Portal 1 + 2, the Prince of Persia games, Psychonauts, the Batman Arkham games, Fallout 3 - 4, Morrowind, Oblivion, Heavy Rain, Metal Gear Rising, Dead Space, Mirro's Edge, some older Assassin's Creed Games... They should have a decent battery life.

And of course lots of newer indie stuff and visual novels in my backlog which ain't more demanding either: Hades, Hollow Knight, Owlboy, Nekopara, The Great Attorney, Clannad, Muv-Luv, Disco Elysium, A Hat in Time, Path of Exile, Guacamelee 2, Superhot MCD, the South Park games, a lot of LEGO games... They should have a decent battery life, too.

Why is that hilarious?

The cost of being more than 4 times as powerfull as the Switch.... its a big boy, for a handheld.

I personally don't get the appeal. It doesn't have Nintendo games thus (for me) it isn't competing with the switch. And for non switch exclusives I'm going ps5.

Many good things have been said about the steam-deck's trackpad so far. That seems to have been a priority for Valve. 

And why does it become stationary with a keyboard and mouse? You can carry all three and wherever you go use the keyboard and mouse. Or your destination could have a keyboard and mouse. For example, my coworkers and I have all reserved steam decks. I can imagine us all connecting our steam decks to our keyboards and mice at work and playing games during breaks.

The portability of a steam deck is still much better than that of my gaming laptop (which weighs 3 times as much) or desktop (obviously.) 

It just doesn't seem like handhelds (in general) are for you. Which makes sense. All products have their demographics. 

To me it isn't about eye candy. I can fit OG Switch in my pockets (adult man). No way could one fit this in their pocket unless they dressed like a goth and had those massive pockets.

It's about the pockets. Nothing else matters but the pockets. You see now that this is a universal  truth?

I don't use the Switch on the go myself but my kids take it with them all the time. Switch Lite is a bit smaller and the other one you can take the joy-cons off to put in your other pocket. Taking the charge cable with you is the clumsy part. How big is the charger for the Steamdeck, it must generate a bit more power in the en. 45 watt USB-C charger needed, not that big.

Steamdeck is not aimed at kids anyway. For me, when I travel I take my laptop, plug it in while waiting at the airport, use it at low power settings during the flight. Good to have a full keyboard and full screen for watching stuff. Simple games are fine as long as they don't tax the gpu. And the thing is, got to take the laptop anyway. Steamdeck would just be another item to store and haul around. It's not a replacement for a laptop. And even in a laptop bag, a switch lite just slides in more easily.

Steamdeck falls in between, too big to easily carry around, too small to use for work. It's cool tech, but filling or rather competing in a niche against the other PC handhelds. Prices would have come down on those by now if it was a popular concept. Steam is hoping their popularity can make them the money back by subsidizing the Steamdeck. Maybe sell them at a profit when it catches on and production costs can be reduced by volume, or by hoping more people join Steam for that 30% cut on games sold.