If we had verizon up here, I'd be getting this phone. Unfortunately, we have AT&T and a verizon "partner" that gets last years phones. The best phone I can get now is the Sprint version of the Hero, which is better than my G1, but not enough for me to warrant the cost. I could wait until the unlocked version comes out, but I can't drop $500 on a phone.
On the other hand, you pay that $500 and then some throughout the ccontract, as they factor that cost into your plan. It's not a discount, it's a payment plan. It may be $150 now, but after the contract's over, you'll probably have payed more than retail price. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that buying a phone up front and getting on a non-contract plan was cheaper in the long run.