With Apple's new baby finally available on Australian shelves, one of the biggest obstacles for many is the notion that the iPad is just an expensive toy. This is a fair assumption. It is, after all, a completely new market - introducing a consumer need rather than fulfilling one - and the most practical uses for it have yet to be invented.

It's easy to look past this, however, when you consider the potential for the iPad as a professional artistic tool: a medium for media creation rather than consumption. In most cases, it doesn't serve as a replacement to existing technology, but as a helpful addition to an illustrator, musician, writer or designer's arsenal.

The following guide is by no means a thorough synopsis of what's out there, but it should provide an excellent starting point for early adopters keen to get the most out of their futuristic indulgence.

For Traditional Musicians

This is a great example of a small niche perfectly filled by the tablet medium. The iPad combines the portability of physical sheet music with the advantages of the digital format. It really is the best of both worlds.

• Just four days after launch, I've already sunk many hours into Tab Toolkit, an invaluable application for guitarists. Imagine sheet music that can cover every instrument, play the music back to you and provide a backing track. There are thousands of user-created Guitar Pro files (of, it must be said, varying accuracy) freely available online and this app is fully compatible. For best effect, I recommend pairing this up with sister iPhone application Guitar Toolkit, which provides a tuner and very thorough chord chart.

• Music Reader offers a similar service ideal for pianists, though a desktop version is also required for full functionality. The iPad props up on a piano music stand well. It also eliminates the centuries-old musician's dilemma of page turning in the middle of a performance.

• Pianist Pro isn't the only virtual piano available from the App Store, and at $12.99 it certainly isn't the the cheapest, but it's every bit as professional as the name implies, with an impressive range of sounds and functions. Composers will find the recording option helpful for capturing those little ideas, and while it's no alternative for the real thing, I've personally found it very useful as a wireless MIDI keyboard. If the novelty value is all you're after, try the free Virtuoso Piano.

While the dedicated sheet music composition programs have yet to make the jump to the iPad, it's only a matter of time. It doesn't take much imagination to picture just how easy music creation could become with the right touchscreen interface.

For DJs

I've always been curious to explore casual DJing, but the costly equipment makes it a largely inaccessible and alienating art form. The iPad offers an ideal way around this, with many applications offering an experience surprisingly close to the real thing.

For a great example of what's possible, take a look at this video demonstration by Rana Sobhany, "the world's first iPad DJ". It's one of the most persuasive arguments yet for the iPad as a complementary creative platform.

Seasoned electronic artists will probably be put off by the closed, controlled nature of Apple products and the lack of multitasking (though this will be amended with an operating system in the coming months). As such, I expect any "real" DJs who embrace it would use it as an bonus addition to an existing setup rather than an all-purpose alternative.

This is one of the most rapidly-expanding areas in the App Store. More electronic music programs emerge every day, each filling a different niche demand. So far I've had the most fun with:

• Groovemaker (free) - An immediately accessible mixer with preloaded tracks. Several specialist premium versions offer a wider range of samples catering to specific genres (Drum 'n' Bass, House, Hip-Hop), but the free version remains a solid introduction ideal for casual mucking about.

• Looptastic - It will set you back $18, but that's a small price to pay for a very flexible and intuitive piece of software. The interface couldn't be simpler: simply drag and drop samples into one of two "decks" and adjust the balance between them. There are a huge number of loops and possible sounds available. I look forward to spending a lot more time with this.

• Sonorasaurus Rex - Designed as a mobile mixing deck, this hands-on app caters more to professional DJs with access to existing samples, providing two decks and all the necessary means of mixing them together. The interface does a terrific job of boiling the setup down to its core functions, ensuring the musician is in complete control. No hand-holding here: the end product will only be as good as the person creating it.

For Illustrators

The iPad won't make digital artists throw away their Mac or drawing tablet anytime soon, but it does provide a portable alternative and a very different working aesthetic.

• Using Sketchbook Pro is a very soothing experience - it brings the charm of traditional sketching and painting back to digital art. The simple but feature-rich interface rarely gets in the way of artistic intent. Just don't expect it to grant you immediate drawing talent.

For Photographers

At this early stage, there aren't too many professional-level photography applications to choose from. This will inevitably change over time, especially as developers factor in the Camera Connection Kit, but for now this is another case of the iPad working best as an accessory.

• LightTrac tracks the exact position and timing of the sun, which can prove very useful when planning outdoor shoots or pursuing sunrise/sunset photos. It's a great example of how the iPad can assist a professional photographer a tiny but important way.

• There are plenty of applications for quick photo editing on the go. Photogene appears to be one of the most thorough so far.

• A good photo can look absolutely gorgeous on the iPad's screen. What better way to find inspiration than to browse some of the world's best photos? Guardian Eyewitness, Reuters Galleries and Beautiful Planet all show stunning examples of photojournalism in action.

For Writers

Words are words, whether you're writing them on a napkin or typing them on a PC. There are, however, several areas where the iPad offers an advantage.

You'll probably find yourself adapting to the touchscreen keyboard very quickly, but for longer-term writing, I've found the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Griffin A-Frame to be a winning combination when the iPad needs to become a temporary laptop.

• Although Scripts Pro is by no means an iPad specific idea, I find the process of sitting down at a computer to start a script has a nasty work vibe that scares away good ideas. I suspect I'll be far likelier to catch myself in the right frame of mind sitting on a veranda or park bench with a certain Apple gadget on hand. As with any good script program, Scripts Pro takes care of the formatting for you. It also adds the all-important tab key to the touchscreen keyboard.

• PortaPoet assists in the technical side of poetry composition, allowing better management of rhythm and rhyming. Perhaps it takes the romance out, but for those of us who find poetry a structural struggle rather than the language of the soul, it's bound to come in handy.

• Poetry Jam is an interesting experiment in collaborative rhyming in which any user can add lines to another's poems. Well worth a look.

• The self-explanatory Dictionary.com app also comes loaded with the author's best friend: the thesaurus.

• If you're looking to write for the iPad itself, there's plenty of inspiration to be found in the following apps: Wired (the first print-to-digital magazine to truly "get" the medium), Alice in Wonderland (an eBook filled with cute iPad-specific touches), The Elements: A Visual Exploration (scientific education made shiny and fun) and Phaidon Design Classics (the closest the iPad has gotten so far to matching the presentation and feel of a hardcover coffee-table book). In short, we have a lot to live up to.

(Addendum: After finishing this very article, I reread it on the iPad using Pages and spotted several glaring typos. Could this be an ideal screen for proof-readers too? Time will tell.)

For Theatre Actors

These two suggestions come courtesy of Kate Foy.

• Rehearsal, for practicing and managing scripts.  One of many established iPhone apps on this list only now fulfilling its potential with the transition a larger screen.

• Shakespeare delievers a very attractive and readable presentation of Wil's complete works . (As a reader rather than an actor, I'm a big fan of the dictionary function in the paid version. It softly underlines ambiguous and archaic words - just tap them for a definition.)

General Productivity

• AirDisplay turns the iPad into a second monitor. (Mac only, though Windows support is apparently on its way.)

• Penultimate is a great simulation of pen-on-notepad sketching (even if actual pens and notepads aren't exactly hard to come by). The free Adobe Ideas offers similar capability for quick idea-sharing, and the option of sketching over existing photos opens up some useful design and planning possibilities.

• GoodReader is the best PDF reader currently available. Even poor-quality scans of scripts look strangely sexy on that screen.

• Keynote has obvious use for client presentations. Considering how vivid an image will look on the iPad screen, it could be the perfect way of showing off a portfolio.

Keep in mind that the device is still in its very early days. The app developers out there have plenty of tricks left up their sleeves, and I have no doubt the most interesting practical uses are yet to come.

From my brief time with the iPad so far, I've found it capable of promoting and enhancing creativity in some very subtle and unexpected ways. If you make a living from your own creative output, this expensive toy could be well worth your while.

Know of any more applications that can help fellow creatives?  How else could app developers improve your work and lifestyle? We'd love to read your comments.

Special guest write-up by Alastair Craig