Atari Lynx [1989] 

The Lynx was the world's first hand-held colour video game system. The Lynx offered true multi-player competition, built-in 3D and distortion graphic effects, reversible controls, and fast arcade action. The controller was digital pad, comprising of two fire buttons (so that you can invert the console to use left-handed).

The main rival to the Lynx was the Game Gear and Game Boy, and the competition was certainly strong. The Lynx boasted a quick 16-bit processor at 16 MHz compared to the others which hovered around 4 MHz in their 8-bit processor - as for speed this hand-held is the one. As for the games and the popularity at the time there was only one winner.