What does this difference mean other than increased standover height on the Specialized?
Other than the increased standover height, not much. Possibly a marginally stiffer/lighter frame. The increased standover height does give a little more flexibility for fitting riders, especially on the shorter end. Some manufacturers use it to offer less sizes, which is to their advantage (for inventory reasons) but not to buyers. That doesn't seem to be the case with the model you picked out.
"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem
"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk