If it's a niche then it's one invented by Apple to make money from, and good luck to them to he honest.
Not at all. Tablets have been around well before the iPad.
But the fact is that since we have both clearly stated that a tablet does not replace a netbook or laptop, then it just becomes one more device to lug along WITH a netbook or a laptop.
You're missing a more subtle point. It doesn't replace the laptop for general purpose computing. But it might replace the laptop where a laptop is being used for a specific subset of tasks.
Right now, my phone trades off as my main communications interface. I do more email and IM than phonecalls. And I trade off between my laptop and my phone depending on what I'm doing and how involved the communications are. In most cases, I could get away with just the smartphone until the task got involved enough to warrant breaking out the laptop... in situations when said laptop wasn't already running. The point here is the right interface for the task at hand. Not all platforms work well in all situations.
However, having identified that a laptop and smartphone combined do more than a netbook, then it becomes a moot point actually buying one in the first place.
For you maybe. I'm in the market for an inexpensive Android tablet. But I wouldn't dream of tossing out my laptop for one. And as interesting as netbooks were, I'm more interested in a tablet.
Why do I have to repeat stuff 3 or 4 times and STILL they refuse to get it?
I'd suggest you're missing things yourself in your zeal to put "fanbois" in their place.