Here's some history.
http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com...r-history.html

Gary Fisher/Trek was way more instrumental than anything Specialized did. Unless you're some weird Specialized collector, I can't see anything notable about a 29er from 2006...

The wikipedia page even says:
"Even companies that openly dismissed 29" as a bad idea or passing trend, Specialized and Turner, are bringing 29" wheels to market."
Although there is no reference associated...