<s>
The	O
Ferranti	O
Market	O
Research	O
Terminal	O
(	O
MRT	O
)	O
was	O
,	O
arguably	O
,	O
the	O
world	O
’s	O
first	O
application-specific	O
handheld	B-Application
computer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
having	O
an	O
appearance	O
of	O
a	O
calculator	B-Application
built	O
into	O
a	O
clipboard	O
,	O
the	O
reality	O
was	O
that	O
the	O
unit	O
contained	O
a	O
sophisticated	O
form	O
of	O
programmable	O
data-logger	O
that	O
,	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
an	O
interviewer	O
reading	O
questions	O
to	O
the	O
interviewee	O
,	O
had	O
answers	O
digitally	O
recorded	O
(	O
for	O
later	O
uploading	O
and	O
analysis	O
)	O
via	O
pressing	O
appropriate	O
keys	O
on	O
the	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
contained	O
a	O
bespoke	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
support	O
field	O
based	O
market	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ferranti	O
Market	O
Research	O
Terminal	O
(	O
MRT	O
)	O
is	O
also	O
of	O
historical	O
significance	O
to	O
the	O
computing	O
industry	O
since	O
it	O
marked	O
the	O
last	O
original	O
computer	O
design	O
from	O
Ferranti	O
,	O
a	O
long	O
established	O
business	O
(	O
started	O
1882	O
)	O
that	O
had	O
risen	O
to	O
fame	O
through	O
a	O
collaboration	O
Manchester	O
University	O
to	O
produce	O
the	O
"	O
Mark	B-Device
1	I-Device
"	O
,	O
the	O
world	O
’s	O
first	O
commercial	O
computer	O
and	O
later	O
with	O
Cambridge	O
University	O
producing	O
the	O
"	O
Atlas	B-Device
"	O
and	O
"	O
Titan	B-Device
"	O
computers	O
which	O
,	O
at	O
their	O
peak	O
,	O
held	O
around	O
25%	O
of	O
the	O
computing	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
is	O
difficult	O
to	O
imagine	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
this	O
product	O
development	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
seventies	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
useful	O
to	O
remember	O
that	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
(	O
which	O
has	O
brought	O
the	O
Windows	O
desktops	O
and	O
laptops	O
that	O
are	O
now	O
commonplace	O
)	O
was	O
only	O
introduced	O
on	O
12	O
August	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
one	O
ignores	O
calculators	B-Application
,	O
then	O
handheld	B-Application
computers	I-Application
appeared	O
in	O
July	O
1980	O
with	O
,	O
perhaps	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
being	O
the	O
Tandy	B-Device
Pocket	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
(	O
Radio	B-Device
Shack	I-Device
TRS-80	I-Device
Pocket	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
Matsushita	O
(	O
now	O
the	O
Panasonic	O
Corporation	O
)	O
produced	O
a	O
handheld	B-Application
computer	I-Application
marketed	O
under	O
the	O
Panasonic	O
and	O
Quasar	O
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
these	O
devices	O
were	O
,	O
of	O
course	O
,	O
general	O
purpose	O
handheld	B-Application
computers	I-Application
unlike	O
the	O
application-specific	O
MRT	O
introduced	O
by	O
Ferranti	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
that	O
came	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
Ferranti	B-Device
MRT	I-Device
and	O
,	O
effectively	O
,	O
Ferranti	O
with	O
its	O
long	O
lineage	O
of	O
UK	O
innovative	O
computing	O
and	O
electronics	O
research	O
,	O
development	O
and	O
manufacture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
description	O
of	O
the	O
Ferranti	B-Device
MRT	I-Device
was	O
given	O
by	O
Deborah	O
Martell	O
(	O
Cardiff	O
Business	O
School	O
,	O
University	O
of	O
Wales	O
Institute	O
of	O
Science	O
and	O
Technology	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
1987	O
book	O
,	O
"	O
Management	O
Information	O
Systems	O
:	O
The	O
Technology	O
Challenge	O
"	O
(	O
edited	O
by	O
Nigel	O
Piercy	O
)	O
in	O
which	O
she	O
described	O
the	O
product	O
as	O
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MRT	O
is	O
a	O
battery-operated	O
,	O
hand-held	B-Application
,	O
data-capture	O
terminal	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
an	O
electronic	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
clipboard	O
and	O
pencil	O
used	O
for	O
gathering	O
information	O
from	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
put	O
these	O
developments	O
into	O
context	O
,	O
the	O
Internet	O
was	O
only	O
commercialized	O
in	O
1995	O
when	O
NSFNET	O
was	O
decommissioned	O
and	O
the	O
last	O
barriers	O
to	O
using	O
it	O
for	O
commercial	O
purposes	O
were	O
removed	O
(	O
so	O
the	O
Ferranti	B-Device
MRT	I-Device
was	O
in	O
use	O
for	O
over	O
10	O
years	O
before	O
the	O
commercial	O
Internet	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
