Greetings all, and happy to add to the list of folks recommending the Curve. Wife started with a Pearl and when I upgraded her to a Curve I quickly became Pearl fan. I recently upgraded to a Curve myself and now our 14 yo daughter is the happy owner of the Pearl. They are both great phones and each has their following.
I would without hesitation recommend the Curve *if* you think you need the additional features (Querty keyboard, GPS, etc...) or simply want a larger screen on your phone. I just got back from a 3 day business trip with my new Curve and it performed flawlessly. I really liked the Pearl, but I REALLY love the Curve.