I saw Wirefly has the phone with a free BT headset for $409 (with $80 Bing cashback and without a plan). I wonder if Sprint will require the $10 premium fee if I get the phone this way and then join their network, since I have already paid for the "large screen, wicked fast processor and awesome kickstand" myself and I won't use their 4G network either.

The worst part about the $10 fee is that it is required no matter how much you paid for the phone. My friend bought the Evo for $600 from Best Buy on launch day and is still spending another $10 a month for every month he has that phone or any other phone he might switch to that has the $10 fee. If you buy the Evo for the new customer pricing of $199 and keep it for the 2 years of the contract, you pay another $240 over those 2 years. You keep it longer than that, you still pay the $10 a month which could eventually bring the price of owning the Evo >$450, the original SRP. At that point, has your phone really be subsidized? Not really...

You'd think so, but unfortunately not. You're still required to pay the $10.

Best Buy is just saying what we're all thinking--The extra $10 is for 4G, Sprint just doesn't want to admit it because Dan Hesse claimed 4G would be free on Sprint.

Plus, if they come right out and say it's for 4G, then all those people who don't get 4G would complain about having to pay for something they're not getting.

this killed all the true believers on Facebook. No one has really responded except to say its best buy's mistake.