According to the interview, the hardware division is working in tandem with Steam's Big Picture Mode, creating a hardware solution to the control-based limitations found in many titles offered on Valve's Steam platform. Possibilities again she wouldn't reveal what Valve was working on range from Phantom Lapboard-type solutions to hybrid controllers.
Nowhere in the interview were there signs of a possible Steam console. Whatever Valve has up its sleeve, it sounds like gamers will have a chance to offer feedback on those designs, as the hardware team is planning a beta for its various products. Even more, the team is pushing to launch a beta for the company's first product in the coming year, meaning the Steam community will know more about this first attempt by the time those beta doors swing wide open in 2013.
Source: Toms Hardware