@
aedon - regarding SERO, if you are currently on SERO (not a SERO lookalike), you 'should' be able to dial *2 on your phone to get directly to the folks who can access SERO accounts. Also, if you log into your sprint account and use the contact us link to send them an Email, it should get sent directly to the folks who can access your SERO account. (I've tried both and it worked each time).
Regarding purchasing a device, yes, a store usually can't do that (well, technically, they can, but they have to call the Sprint team that supports SERO and they don't want to spend time doing that).
You can call telesales, or you can also go to a local store like bestbuy (unlike radioshack, BB reps often will spend the time calling the sprint Sero team). The easiest option would be to purchase the phone and don't have them activate it. You get home and activate it on your own (that's what I did for my EVO 4G - but went to BB only AFTER changing from SERO to SERO-P. The $10 surcharge for 4G got added on when I activated).
My friends have instead ordered the device at bestbuy.com and had it shipped to their residence un-activated and then, they activated it at home.
Back to the topic of the post (OP) though
I'm also waiting to see what WP7 can do... (waiting on my Lumia 800 to be delivered). Eager to develop apps for WP7 - but want to see how well it works in real life first!