First handheld according to Glushkov

Victor Mikhailovich Glushkov was the founding father of information technology in the Soviet Union and one of the founding fathers of Soviet cybernetics. In 1996 he was awarded the IEEE Computer Pioneer Award, For digital automation of computer architecture. He published nearly 800 printed works. In his book Fundamentals of Paperless Informatics, published a few months after his death (in 1982), he wrote a visionary prediction:

Soon enough paper books, newspapers, and magazines will be no more. Every person will have an electronic notebook—a combination of a flat screen and a mini radio transmitter. No matter where you are in the world, if you key a specific code in the notebook, you will be able to summon texts and images from giant remote databases. This will forever replace not only books, newspapers, and magazines, but also television.

I was curious what actually was the first device matching the Glushkov’s criterias:

  1. notebook size
  2. flat screen
  3. wireless receiver and transmitter
  4. support of wide area network spanning entire world
  5. text input capability

As far as I know, the first device which seems to be matching the abovementioned criterias was EO Personal Communicator 440 released in 1992. It is amaizing device in every aspect (the first phablet, innovative OS PenPoint, unusual CPU AT&T Hobbit and so on). However, this device utilized the Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) standard for wireless data transfer. This standard was used in North America and Asia. It failed to become a world-wide network. Therefore someone may doublt whether EO Communicator matches the fourth criteria. In this case, taking into account that the first global cellular network was based on GSM standards, then Nokia 9000 Communicator released in 1996 should be considered as the first handheld according to Glushkov.

Soviet handheld computer in video game

I noticed a vintage handheld computer in ATOM RPG.

ATOM RPG is a post-apocalyptic indie game, inspired by classic CRPGs: Fallout, Wasteland, System Shock, Deus Ex, Baldur’s Gate and many others.
In 1986 both the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc were destroyed in mutual nuclear bombings. You are one of the survivors of the nuclear Holocaust.

The device looks like Elektronika MK-90:

It must be a prototype. According to wikipedia, in 1986 there was only a prototype of this device.

You can find more information about Elektronika MK-90 here: Vintage programmable calculators.