Pre-orders are going live for HTC Thunderbolt through Best Buy; $249.99 on-contract?

Alright, so we’ve got quite a few big time handsets quickly fast approaching their inevitable launches, but it looks like Best Buy has started accepting pre-orders for the HTC Thunderbolt.

Although we’ve seen it already featured in a circular already, we’ve pointed out that the consumer electronics retailer would eventually start offering pre-orders. Well, starting today, you can head into any of their brick and mortar stores to fetch yourself a snazzy pre-order to beat out those unexpected lines on launch day. Basically, you shell out $50 out of your pockets, which is then placed onto a gift card and later applied to your purchase when you pick up the device.

More interesting than anything else is that its potential launch day is penned for February 14th – which is just in time for Valentine’s Day. Even though it’s not yet officially confirmed, it wouldn’t surprise anyone since it’ll be in direct competition with AT&T’s offering with the HTC Inspire 4G. However, it’s also rumored that Best Buy will be carrying a $249.99 on-contract pricing for the HTC Thunderbolt. If that’s true, are you still going to go after one?

via Engadget