Niches
Long-tail
New opportunities
Micropayments
Fast transactions
At least 20 alts will grow bigger long-term (just watch)
That may be true but the golden question is which one? There's so many pump and dump that many have lost faith in alt coins but the ones that will stick around, I do expect them to jump in price in the near future because people would have faith in it.
The only way to answer this question will be in the services they begin to provide.
ALL altcoins can serve a specific need...if you desire what that coin is selling...you mine it and spend it....