Children's Books

• While the iPad has plenty buzz about being a slick e-reader, it's especially effective as an e-reader for children's books. The bright, high-definition screen is enticing for young children, more so than the grayscale e-ink readers. Children's books on the e-reader can offer sounds, videos and interactive elements to help children learn along with their books. These can also use puzzles and read-along elements to help improve your child's involvement in reading books.
  
  

Autograph Collection

• Autographs are a fun collectible, a little reminder of the time you met authors, athletes or actors. In October 2010, a fan even got President Obama's signature using his iPad and an application called Adobe Ideas. Through a service called "Autography," authors can sign their e-books at book signings using their iPad. You don't even need a specialized program to gather an autograph; as with President Obama's signature, you can use any app that supports drawing or writing that saves to your iPad.
  
  

Cat Toy

• Friskies launched three iPad games designed especially for your cat. Not only did they create themed environments for your cat to paw at, but they actually researched what colors and designs your cat would find most enticing. These games are free Web apps, located at gamesforcats.com.
  
  

Taking Notes

• You can take notes on the go using your iPad and store them safely on your devices or even online. Applications like Evernote use a virtual QWERTY keyboard. Other applications, such as NotesPlus, allow you to take simple handwritten notes directly on your iPad. WritePad actually offers handwriting recognition for converting your handwriting to text.
  
  

Gaming

• More than the simplistic, basic games like "Angry Birds" -- which are incredibly popular -- there are more in-depth games available for the iPad. These games include iOS versions of "Mirror's Edge" and "Dead Space," a racing game called "Real Racing 2" that uses the motion of the iPad to steer your car, the virtual joystick controlled RPG-esque "Infinity Blade" and the shooter "Rage HD." You can also purchase docks like the iCade or Atari Arcade to play classic arcade games using classic controls.