I got my UX2 during City Musci's year-end sale - some time in December, if I recall correctly - it was either $265 or $285.
It comes with GearBox (without it the UX2 will not work!) and Ableton Live!.
The tones aren't that great at their default settings. Needs some tweaking to get things right. I'm very happy with the clean sounds. I haven't gotten round to tweaking the heavier tones. It's very user-friendly - so no worries there.
It's best to know what you want from piece of equipment before heading down and testing a bunch of stuff. Write it down - this way you won't get side-tracked into buying something that doesn't fit your needs.
Just rub on lots of deodorant and head on down to CityMusic or Luther and give it a go for a while. And while you're there, take a look at the RiffTracker.
Cheers
RoRK