TL;DR: Antec is going to be selling a Steam Deck competitive device, based on the Ayaneo Slide. The device has a slide up screen that reveals a keyboard, which is good because using desktop windows is much easier with a keyboard. However the device’s lowest estimated power draw at low/no load is 15w, meaning it will use comparable power to the deck running at max power. This means the battery life will probably be pretty rough when compared to the Deck. It will also likely have a much higher price point.
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.
I miss sliding/rotating phones. In general new phones were really exciting back then.
Yeah, I’m not sure how to actually use this keyboard. You can’t type with two hands and hold it up with two hands at the same time, and it’ll be easy too wife to thumb type while holding it.
I’m skeptical. The dual-trackpad typing on the Deck is pretty slick, too. With each thing controlling half the keyboard, it feels very similar to “real” typing, and it’s fast enough for the light use that’s needed for most gaming-related tasks. So, this is a very big (and therefore expensive) component to be including fire very limited value.
If I really need to type a lot or quickly, I can grab my cheap Bluetooth keyboard (that would cost way less than the marginal cost of including a sliding keyboard like this one!)