Yeah, just take a last-year mobile platform, slap on a lower resolution screen to get up the framerates and put the 3ds OS on the metal, it would be $50 like all those chinese phones. - wait it's the switch.
Anyway, any old android is a cheap good way to play minecraft, especially when crossplay rolls out soon. I think we have about three phones without sim just used as small tablets (and three tablets not used at all curiously)
The connection to a real console and a real game-cartridge and what a kid can create on that can't be beat by the everchanging mobile platforms and multiplayer events,
exchanging saved worlds between 3ds's and joining up to play multiplayer could really be a thing if they add that as a feature once the game dont' change too much.
Also the special edition minecraft 3ds would really be nice.