Despite the hype, it's likely that many people were reserving judgment on the Steam Deck prior to its release. Given Valve's track record with hardware projects in the past, some in the gaming industry and surrounding community may have been trying not to get their hopes up. However, things seem to have worked out so far, and the device is selling in droves. Unfortunately, the official dock is still nowhere to be seen, but users can now opt for one that's been developed by a third-party company.
As spotted by PCGamesN, an accessories supplier called JSAUX has now started selling its own dock for the Steam Deck. Currently priced at $39.99, this unofficial dock features ports for USB-A 2.0, USB-C, HDMI, and RJ45 Ethernet cable. It looks like a pretty neat piece of kit for those who have been waiting for Valve's version to come out. The description on the product page also says that, while it's been designed for the Deck, this accessory is also compatible with Android phones and iPads.
At the very least, this looks like a solid alternative to waiting for the official dock. With Valve delaying the Steam Deck dock recently, users have been left without one for the time being. At the time of writing, there doesn't appear to be a new release window. The accessory was originally scheduled to release this spring, but a shortage of parts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the developer was unable to meet its launch window. However, a post on Steam did say that this did not impede the production of the Deck itself.
In fact, Valve has recently increased production of the Steam Deck, with the last batch of Q2 emails having just been sent out. Essentially, the company will be shipping more than double the devices starting next quarter, which is good news for those who have one on pre-order, especially given that they were quite difficult to get a hold of at the start.
With thousands of games now compatible with Valve's portable PC, the Steam Deck is showing its worth in a competitive industry. Initially considered a Switch-like device going up against Nintendo, it's quickly become established that the Steam Deck is more than just a games console. Gaming is the main reason for purchasing the system, of course, but with its support for Windows, it seems to represent what could be the next step in the evolution of mobile computing.