Ever try using Blender without one? You absolutely need the numpad for 3D programs and game engines, otherwise it's outright painful.
It turned out to be quite fun and useful. Not a very good laptop if you want to use it where you don't have a screen, but it was kind of like a modern TRS-80. You could treat it like a keyboard and not have the laptop screen get in the way of the larger desktop monitor (back then it probably would have been a CRT) I actually wanted to use. In a sense it was actually less awkward than a normal laptop for the way I usually wanted to use it.
Having a built in UPS is pretty sweet for some use cases though.
They can also just like having the option of portability, and appreciate the less bulk. Plus, they do use it once in a blue moon outside (at a conference, traveling, etc).
> Because all laptop users make use of the screen.
If they wanted less bulk, they could buy an Intel Nuc or similar form factor device.
The screen and portability are the compelling feature of the laptop design.
Using a mouse is very bad for my shoulders if it's too far away from my center. Numpads are simply not an option for me, unless I had an external one in a special location.
I think the numpad users are outnumbered by the indifferent and numpad haters. I'm in the latter column.