We’re all familiar with the most common ways to use our iPad 2s: surfing the Internet, reading books and even organizing our days. Some iPad 2 owners have come up with some creative ways to use their tablets that step away from the ordinary. Take a look at these five interesting ways that people are using their iPad 2s.

1. Playing the Piano

With the great applications out there you don’t need to shell out thousands of dollars for a baby grand. The world renowned master pianist, Lang Lang recently performed Flight of the Bumblebee, as an encore to his concert, all on his iPad.

2. Mood Lighting

If you have trouble falling asleep or simply want to relax while taking a bath or sitting in your favorite chair, use the iPad for mood lighting. Find the appropriate app, select your color and sit your iPad 2 so its facing the wall or the corner. The light will reflect up your walls creating a soft, relaxing glow.

3. Sketchbook for Creativity

The iPad 2 can make a fantastic sketchbook or canvas for your latest masterpiece. With the SketchBook app and a great stylus owners are finding that they can create genuinely unique works of art using only their iPad and their imagination. Think of the money you’ll save on art supplies!

4. Cookbook

Propped up with its cover or set in your favorite book holder, the iPad 2 can be your best friend in the kitchen! Several cooking apps are available but none perhaps as user friendly as Epicurious. With easy to follow recipes and pictures that take you step-by-step through your gastronomic creation, you’ll soon find yourself in a league with the world’s master chefs; all thanks to your iPad 2.

5. Dolphin Communicator

If you’ve ever wanted to communicate with dolphins, now might just be your chance. Grab your iPad 2 and head to your local aquarium! Merlin, a bottlenose dolphin in Mexico, is the first of his kind to be taught how to use his nostrum to ‘touch’ the screen of an iPad and associate objects. This is just the first step in what researchers hope will be a learning process for Merlin. Eventually, his trainers hope that Merlin will be able to use the iPad to communicate ideas and emotions.

Do these uses give you ideas of your own? The iPad 2 is a great tech gadget and has many common functions, but it may just be those out-of-the-box, creative uses that ensure a long life for the latest in the Apple line of gadgets!

Miles Walker writes on car insurance quotes for CarInsuranceComparison.org. He recently wrote about Rhode Island car insurance.