It boils down to regional prices and special offers, I guess. I could grab a brand new laptop sporting an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and 16 gigs of DDR4 RAM for about the same sum as that top of the range Steam Deck.

Where'd you read that?

Please go to steamdeck.com and read what they say :

Powerful
SteamDeck runs the latest AAA games – and runs them really well
Versatile
You can connect to peripherals, throw the picture onto a big screen, and do all the other PC things you'd expect.

So, to use their words, you'd expect to throw a 720p display on a big screen and expect it to look really well ?

And yes, I know it's hard to fit a powerful enough x86 PC in a portable console...
That's probably why both smartphone manufacturers and laptops manufacturers are not trying to do it 😜

1080p screen would still be vastly better even if specs are not really there because then you could watch movies, run simpler games in full HD, and use cheap upscaling tricks to make even more demanding games much better. Upscaling algorithms are getting so good these days making use of them (and/or futureproofing the device if Valve didn't finish that feature yet) is really a no brainer. Their decision to milk the clients with really expensive storage and cheap screen gives me no confidence at all. It has same screen as Switch, 5 year old console by now (and worse one than cheaper Switch OLED model to boot). You'd really think they could offer something comparable with several years old cell phone in 2021.

Switch is 4 years old? Wow, time fucking flies

It is worth noting that eMMC will run substantially slower. Adding additional games via SD card might not fully solve this issue as it might just cause even more issues and lag. I think the low tier is fine if you need to do it to save money, but if you are already spending that much, going up by one tier is reasonable.

I’ll have to manage my storage on the device carefully, or invest in the SD which hopefully will run games quick enough since that tech has been around for awhile. I wouldn’t play AAA games on the Deck, no matter what model it is.

And monitor, so almost making it like a real PC? Then why not get a real PC?

Right but it's not going to be a PC. So you also have to have another PC. So what's the point?

If only it had an usb port (without the need for a hub) where you could just hook up a mouse straight to it.

In that case you can buy a usb-c to usb 3.0 adapter and it should work.

They put trackpads in the middle (for whatever reason)

If it was only capacity, but it is also slower which is double disappointment. I like the device all things considered but I don't think that this was right decision, Valve is certainly the one who can take (bigger) loss on selling the hardware. It can also bring bigger profits because people will maybe opt to buy games from Steam instead of Switch since Deck is more powerful and games can be found cheaper.
At least Gabe revealed that you can replace SSD inside, it is not soldered which I was expecting. Negative is that it's 2230 m.2 which is much smaller and more expensive than standard 2280. But still it's upgradeable, prices will go down in the future, device will not go obsolete in terms of free space in a couple of years.

EDIT: They updated storage specification officially but added "not intended for end-user replacement", so there's that... :(

No 679

Better, insta not buying!

The reservation fee goes towards the price of the Steam Deck.

I really don't understand why there's a carrying case and an exclusive carrying case, what makes the second one exclusive. Just a decal? Actual better quality?

Let's not forget that even if it is more expensive than switch, you're saving TONS of money on games.

That's entirely off-track from the topic I was attempting to cover in that paragraph. I was by no means in any way addressing consumer cost-benefit in that paragraph, but rather Valve's profit margins.

[ Also, you're not saving money on games at all, that's a misassociation.
You're paying the same amount for games and gaining versatility in access. That still only makes it compete with the Xbox, not necessarily the Switch, as far as disassociating gaming costs. Switch is still competing with Deck in the same manner it primarily competes with any platform, through exclusives.

There'll certainly be a niche where there's an overlap, and where that specific individual saves money on games (due to them having a "whatever's available on portable I'll take" mentality, along with a suitably robust Steam library), but otherwise you'll either have {Lacking funds for a second console or determining that the appeal of the Switch's exclusive games doesn't warrant the cost of a second console (meaning you are still facing the same costs for any appealing games if exclusivity is removed, meaning no money is saved), Still having interest in the Switch platform's exclusive characteristics or titles (also meaning no money is saved), or my mind blanked, I'll fill this in when/if I remember it.}.

Regardless of which of those options you consider, you're not actually saving on games at all (as they're either no longer things you'd be interested in regardless of platform, or they're things you'd still be interested in if you could readily access them). Basically, it's like saying you're good on buying apples, because you bought oranges. If you had the means and interest both, then you'd likely still get both. ]

The closest I come to addressing consumer cost-benefit is with "and you're for some reason chosing this over (or in addition to) the Switch", in which I lightly touch upon my own opinion that Nintendo portable consoles have more to offer than a PC console would, given its exclusive titles, if one already has a PC to work with [versus, say, having just a cheap tablet and merely only being able to activate steam keys instead of play them]. That's also why I reference xbox in the paragraph you quoted, as xboxes (of any generation other than the first) are the consoles actually intended as PC competitors.

Well... Judging by previous Valve HW releases, it's going to be discontinued pretty soon.

Has Valve ever not discounted steeply prior to discontinuation, though? Regardless of my disfavorable considerations towards Steam controllers, there's not a single piece of hardware that Valve has released that doesn't have longeveity in use associated with (in the sense that controllers, Link, and Deck can all continue to be used for their intended functions just fine even after discontinuation). So if what you're guessing is accurate, that'd be a major win for those who held off or held off on more expensive models. ^.^

Regardless of which topic above we're continuing off of, at the very least I don't expect it to be able to hold that $100 retail over Switch for an excessive period of time. Nintendo has too much to offer, and the niche of those wanting a Sega Nomad take on their PC doesn't seem strong enough to carry the Deck over the Switch off niche appeal alone.

Obviously, Valve/Steam fans will leap at it, same as fans for quite a few (multiplayer) franchises, but after that initial surge has settled Valve isn't likely to hold to the current retail price for overly long. As I noted above, the foundations are against it, Valve is too saavy about the industry to not understand discount appeal, and Valve has a history of discounting hardware. Even if Valve does discontinue, there's no reason for them not to discount steeply [within profit-earning range] first and make what profit they can.

I don't yet. :( it's pending, dunno if i should wait, or try again.

congrats!!

Same, i refreshed when the clock hit 19:00 (here).

Do you got 1 working and pending too? I dunno if i should just let it wait or we should keep on trying?