Mail-in rebates & T43 2686-M5U vs CTO 2886-E7U

[princeatul]

First part of question:
How reputed is Lenovo's mail-in rebates scheme? I mean,
do 100% of people who apply for it (given they sent in
right documents) get their rebate cheques? How long does
it take to get the cheque?

Now, second part of question:
I'm oscillating between 2 choices for T43 : 2686-M5U& CTO 2686-E7U,
for the fact that M5U, prices at $1750 comes down to $1600
*after* mail-in rebates. And equally equipped E7U comes close
to that.
Here are specs:
Common:
- 14" XSGA+
- 512 MB RAM
- ATI x300 (not much of a gamer)
- Optical Storage DVD-Writer

M5U
------
Pentium M 760 2 GHz
Hard Drive 60 GB - 5400 rpm
Wireless NIC Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Shipping Time: 3-4 weeks
Cost $1,750 - $150 rebate = $1600 + taxes

E7U
------
Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86GHz)
Hard Disk 60 GB (7200 rpm)
Operating System XP Home
Wireless NIC Intel PRO/Wireless 2195ABG
Shipping Time: 6 weeks (!!!!)
Cost $1,640 + taxes
Don't know if rebate is applicable here

Would like to know which is a better one? I'm inclined towards
CTO, but shipping time is critical to me, more than 4 weeks is not
acceptable. Does it really take *so* long to ship a CTO???

Eagerly waiting for answers...

Usage: Non-gaming, moderate-CPU load and simultaneous multiple text windows.[/i]