I've also noticed that when looking at phones to upgrade while signed into my Verizon account that I tend to have $40-50 knocked off of the price; assuming (which is dangerous) it's the same for everyone, a $299.99 phone is really $249.99-259.99. Expensive, but a bit more bearable.
I was worried I'd get stuck paying more for this phone compared to the usual $200ish, but if all the info we have on it right now is true, I'm feeling it will be quite worth it at ~$250.
As far as the 10th being a possible release date, I can survive. I've been waiting some time to upgrade, so I think I can get through a bit less than 30 days from now. Sooner would be awesome, of course, but oh well.