If you're waiting until 10/01 to buy a 4G device on SERO

[quick99si]

Be aware that you can order an Epic on your SERO line right now but it must be done through sprint.com or telesales. You don't need to activate it until the magic October date... hopefully this will ease the expected surge in orders at that time.

My buddy recently put his TP2 through a box creaser and was looking for a new phone, so I suggested he look into the Epic 4G. I offered to use my upgrade discount since one of my lines was eligible. We ordered the phone at sprint.com and the total came out to $371 - $100 rebate, shipped to and taxed in IL.

We spent a lot of time on the phone trying to activate it on his account. It looks like all those fraudulent insurance claims and phone orders from last year have forced Sprint to lock down the purchased device to the account used to buy it. "Freeing up the ESN" also carries implications with the rebate, 30-day exchange, and manufacturer's warranty, but he didn't care about that lol