Sure, for triple the price
(OLED)
Of course a dedicated handheld that can run code is better than a streaming only device, thing is, you always have to take into account the big price difference, this apple to oranges comparison doesn't help at all in a discussion.
the PS portal is a dual sense with an 8-inch screen, taking into account that the joypad (DS) is almost $70 by itself and a mediocre 8-9 inch tablet goes for another 100+... I'm actually surprised that Sony released it at this price.
in fact I would go as far as to say that the portal is a much better proposition compared to the even more expensive DS Edge which..is only a joypad.
PS: 99% of tablets and smartphones out there don't even support the dual sense properly (button configuration is all kinds of fucked up, plus, haptics are not even supported).