On of the strong points of ETH is that it is actually very well known throughout the crypto landscape. Its the #2 ranked cryptocurrency and any other coin that claims to be better than ETH will have to beat that.
ETH is actually on the rise right now and valued at $326 at time of writing. Buy while you can because it is currently so undervalued and is projected to double (speculation) by the end of 2017.
This is totally correct . Etherneum is basically a base for other altcoins to grow and flourish . I have seen many altcoin supporting other wallets then eterneum and that seems bloody irritating to the participants as that require making a new wallet that is quite annoying . Since etherneum has a huge coin base it has raised many altcoins in the past which are the major players of the market now .
Etherneum is basic acquirement of any altcoin.