While I am in total agreement with everyone about the specs, what you are paying for besides the moderate innovation (the external antenna connector and the spiffy covering) is essentially a 3 year extended warrenty which covers accidental damage, on site preventative maintenance and assistance. Essentially, an on site support contract. If they are using IBM's support for that, then it might actually be worth it...

Is it worth 5 grand US? I don't know. Would I buy one if I had the cash? Probably not. Does the leather cover look spiffy? in a round about way, yes.