In many ways, the iPad harkens back to old technology, notnew. The first commercially available tablet was launched in 1993 by IMB. Liketablets that followed, the IBM ThinkPad didn’t catch on with consumers.

Despite the commercial failings of these early tabletdevices, the industry scrambled to get back into the space when news broke thatApple would be releasing a tablet computer of its own. Thanks to the iPad, thetablet form factor is getting a second chance.

Already several tablets have come to market, including the Archos5 Internet Tablet, Camangi WebStation, Enso zenPad and Hiton HT960.

These tablets differ from their former iterations in severalways. For instance, neither the iPad nor its competitors fit into anyparticular product niche. The new wave of tablet computers is targeted at anuntested media consumption experience, one that is interactive rather thanstatic.

“Maybe Apple has designed a completely new paradigm herethat people will get into,” says Frost & Sullivan analyst Mike Jude.  “… But it could be just a content consumptionand management device – not the total solution.”

Jude says that despite the considerable buzz Apple createdaround the device, the iPad is essentially a content management device. As Judeputs it, “in a sense, the iPad is a souped-up iPod.”

Unlike early tablets, the new generation of tablet computersis designed for entertainment instead of productivity. Most lack physical keyboardsessential to typing out messages and don’t come equipped with the horsepowerneeded to run multiple enterprise-grade applications simultaneously.

Instead, they’re decked out with knock-out hardware tailoredfor consumption of media and applications. Early reviews of the iPad gave highmarks to the device’s ability to engage users, even if the practicality of thetablet remained in question.

Whether the tablet’s facility for displaying media contentis enough to spur widespread consumer adoption remains unclear. ABI Researchputs worldwide sales of media tablets like the iPad at about 4.5 million in2010. Compare that figure to the amount of netbooks ABI estimates sold lastyear – 36 million – and sales of tablets still look fairly small.

ABI analyst Jeff Orr says there is a good deal of growthopportunity for tablet computers. According to his estimates, about 30 percentof U.S.households could be the potential audience for media tablets because they meetprerequisites for Wi-Fi access and disposable income.

However, he says that tablets needs to hit the magic $200price point in order to take off. “We’re coming off a recession and it’s stilla pricey proposition,” he says.

Before long, there will be a long list of devices keepingthe iPad company in its newly crafted product niche. Asus plans on releasingtwo tablets over the next few months; Huawei was showing off an Android-basedprototype at CTIA; and industry heavyweights like Microsoft and Nokia are saidto be prepping tablets of their own.

ABI’s forecast suggests that consumers may be slow to adoptthese devices in the short term as their use case proves itself out. Consumershave a good deal more experience with the tablet form factor thanks to theirsmaller smartphone brethren and the latest generation of tablets shows a gooddeal more promise than those of the 1990s. Maybe this time the tablet computeris here to stay.