Maybe now is a good time to buy
Now is the worst time to buy. Now is the time to mine litecoin and sell asap
Agreed, now is the time to mine.
As far as "is litecoin real," it is as real as early bitcoin, but it still is looking for a killer app, or even integration with existing bitcoin services. I can easily point to the goods and services offered in bitcoin, but it's hard to do the same for litecoin.
We do need more altcoins to take hold though. The idea that there can only be one is not right. Bitcoin should move from being a standard currency to a reserve currency for it to meet its full potential. Then when you want to move large goods and services between one another, you use bitcoin as a settlement currency. This could allow a person with litecoin to pay a contract to a person who wants ppcoin or even gold bars.
The one thing I dislike about litecoin is the use of scrypt. Once the value in the currency is there, forget about mining it. Botnets will push GPU miners out of business.