So to follow-up on what was a pretty crappy experience. . . yesterday I was bitching about pricing at the ATT stores. Turned out there's some serious shadiness going on in the stores locally in the bay area district.
I spoke with someone int he Premier team at corporate, and they confirmed what most on here had said, that I should be able to go in and buy with no strings attached for $399. They also noted that it states such on the price tag, and that the stores were actually violating the law if they refuse to honor the pricing on the tag.
They said the issue was a store could technically MAKE me provision it on to my account (all the while not extending the contract), so I couldn't just buy it and take it home if they wanted to be sticklers...
But at the end of the day apparently a memo went out to the teams in the SF Bay area and they were told they're required to sell it for the $399 provided people meet the basic requirements, etc...
Too little too late tho. I went into RadioShack, and they were super cool. they not only sold it for the $399, with NO account info, but they said they felt bad, and let me use a 10% off coupon, making it only $360 out the door.
I'm quite pleased with it, this is my first Android phone, I've been iPhone for the longest time. All I have to say is I AM SO GLAD I'M NOT AN AT&T CUSTOMER. I hate that company and glad I have no contractual ties to them and don't support their business in ANY way