Ripple is just a pump-and-dump altcoin. It will die out quietly sometime soon. Litecoin is also an altcoin, but it is the most trusted altcoin. You can't even compare Ripple with Litecoin.
Ripple does seem to be loosing the battle but it most definitely isn't "just a pump-and-dump altcoin." It's part of the Ripple network that is trying to become "Bitcoin 2.0" where you can have any currency and pay in any currency and trade in any currency in a somewhat decentralized manor.
I'm not real educated on this, but as I understand it's not completely decentralized and so the community hasn't really adopted it. But the ideas behind it are really cool whether it's THE solution or not.