It's not really $250. It's $350 with a mail in rebate. From my experience with rebates, this means about 1/3 of people who actually send in the rebates will never get the money for one bogus reason or another, and their price will be the full $350. That's also only if you send the stuff in. (I've had 2 rebates, processed by the same company, get denied because they claim I didn't include the bar code from the box, even though I certainly did. I had one more denied because they say I didn't include a receipt, which I certainly did. Rebate processing companies come up with all sorts of reasons to deny the claim. they say they didn't get something, which you did send, and they know you can't send it in because you already did, so they don't have to cover the claim. That way they keep extra money.) I will not buy anything with a mail in rebate unless it is worth the cost without the rebate. I'll send in the rebates, but I never expect to get the money. I'm pleasantly surprised when I do get it.
It was for this reason that I finally went out last night and got myself the Captivate. I really liked the look of the Epic, but it is just too much money. This Captivate is awesome, though.