The iPad is awesome. It’s great for games, it’s excellent for productivity, it can be used for sketching, taking notes, reading books and articles or as entertainment for children. All of these are pretty straightforward uses most of us have thought of and even utilized. But what else can the iPad do?

When I started writing this article, I couldn’t even imagine some of the uses people put iPads to. Now, I believe anything is possible with this rectangle of light and electronics. Below you will find some of the most innovative, unique and downright crazy uses I could find for the iPad, none of which involves breaking, wrecking or ruining it. Prepare to be amazed!

Typewriter

http://youtu.be/dAnTm1eMhpE

Ever wished you could find the perfect non-distraction working environment? This might be it. This video shows an iPad connected to a real typewriter, and used instead of the old fashioned piece of paper we’re used to see. Each letter typed on the typewriter is transmitted onto the iPad, which even moves back and forth along with the typewriter’s mechanism.

Aircraft/Helicopter Remote Control

http://youtu.be/bkKeijmgXW0

This video is a bit on the long side, but is definitely worth watching, especially if you’re into remote control planes. If you want to skip to the action, it starts around 5:45. This video gives a detailed demonstration of the Parrot AR.Drone, an iPad-controlled aircraft. The drone is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen, and despite not being an enthusiast, I am now seriously considering asking for this thing for my next birthday.

Musical Instrument

http://youtu.be/HvplGbCBaLA

This video shows Chinese pianist Lang Lang playing Flight of the Bumblebee on an iPad connected to a piano. It’s unclear what app is being used here, and whether he’s merely tapping to create the notes or performing something more intricate, but whichever is true, this is still an enchanting performance, especially considering he’s playing on a mere iPad.

Restaurant Menu

http://youtu.be/P-y_rV6OSpw

Using the iPad as a menu in a restaurant is not a new idea, and I’ve heard of some restaurants who are starting to do this.However,  I’ve never actually seen this in action, and therefore found this demo both interesting and amusing. This menu app can choose dishes for you based on the weather, and lets you decide how cooked you want your steak to be. Hopefully, no one goes home with the menu.

Become A Famous Artist

http://youtu.be/wzr6kPoxQhI

David Hockney is a English painter who was well-known well before the iPad ever existed, but is now famous for creating beautiful art works by using only his fingers and an iPad. In this video you can see Hockney in action, as well as some of his beautiful works. Museums show exhibitions of these works on multiple iPads, which are presented in dark rooms for better viewing. It’s amazing to realize that these beautiful painting were all made on an iPad.

Ultimate Cat Toy

cat-toy

A while back I told you about my adventures with the iPad as a cat toy. The experiment was a wild success, and my cats enjoyed it immensely, while being surprisingly gentle on the iPad, not even scratching it. Of course, I’m not the only one to turn her iPad into an over-priced cat toy, and you can find many videos on YouTube depicting cats enjoying themselves with the tablet. Unlike  many of the other uses mentioned in this article, this is actually once you can easily try at home. All you need is a cat!

Magic Show

http://youtu.be/53_qvMQfvOE

This video has become very popular last month, and if you haven’t seen it yet, hurry up. Charlie Caper and Erik Rosales use several iPads to create a magical exhibition about their city, Stockholm, and the result is one of the most interesting uses for the iPad I’ve seen yet. It’s so well made, what happens on screen seems to entirely mix with reality, until it becomes hard to know what’s real and what’s not.

Become A DJ

http://youtu.be/P3QhZuHbAUY

While this kind of music might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the fact that this scratching session was performed on two iPads, makes everything a bit more appealing. This might not be the cheapest solution for the professional DJ, but it’s bound to attract some attention.

Light Painting

http://youtu.be/C-dVnG8drxs

This is truly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen done with an iPad. Even after watching the video, I’m still not entirely sure how these stop-frame animations are made, but the result is almost unreal, and looks like a static painting made out of light sitting in mid-air. This video explains a bit about how the technique is used, and then cuts over to a short film made with this light painting technique. Don’t miss this one. Really.

World’s Biggest iPhone

http://youtu.be/R9Tj70tMO9U

While this might not be the most original use for the iPad, it’s probably one of the most amusing ones. In this video, John Biggs from CrunchGear is attempting (and succeeding!) to call his wife using Truephone for iPad.  There are several apps out there that turn your iPad into a phone, very much including mainstream options such as Skype, but the idea of calling your wife on the iPad and holding it against your ear to talk is really amusing.

Interactive Cutting Board

http://youtu.be/sCCKGvzj1NY

Saving the best for last. Well, maybe not the best, but definitely the weirdest. This video demonstrates how to use an app called iCut, which I could not manage to actually find for download, to equally cut bread, cake, or whatever else you’re trying to divide. According to the video, you place the cake on the iPad itself (using a protective layer in between), tell the app how many people are sharing this cake and how big you want the slices to be, and then slice the cake right on the iPad according to the lines. While I couldn’t find the actual app, this doesn’t seem to be a joke, but a genuine way for people to share equal portions of cake. Ingenious!

Your Turn

These are the best and craziest uses I could find for the iPad. Now it’s your turn. Do you know of a unique way to use the iPad I didn’t mention? Did you use your iPad in a way no one has thought of before? Share everything in the comments!