remember the Steam Machine?
Yes and I always thought it was pretty dumb back then. Basically was just a prebuilt PC running on linux.
The Deck is different though, this a very good idea in my eyes. I travel a lot and having something that's more compact than my laptop w/ a longer battery life speaks to me. Unlike the already existing and more niche GPD Wins or Aya Neo, the Deck is pretty streamlined and still has a ton of grunt along with a surprisingly competitive pricetag. IIRC the Valve Index was very good so I think they'll be able to pull it off.
I was already thinking about picking up a GPD Win 3, but now I have my eyes set on this. $400-$650 is far much easier to swallow than $900-$1400.
The only caveat I see is that.. this thing is loving massive lmao. Actually the biggest handheld ever made and puts the Game Gear & Atari Lynx to shame in terms of size.