Well I traded up and moved to the mighty Curve from the Pearl. I can say I like this much better, should have done this earlier. Just wanted to put this out here. And to ask if there is anything special I should know that is different from the 8100.
Though I am new to the forums, I can say that there is a wealth of information in the 83xx forums that will answer about 99% of the questions you may have or will have in the future. Congrats on the switch!
I find it a lot easier to type on the Curve than the Pearl thanks to the QWERTY keyboard. I tried a friend's Pearl with SureType and I am spoiled from my Curve. Plenty of info on here so feel free to ask.