I had the Pearl from At&t about a year ago and now have the Curve. I like the Curve for mostly two reasons:
Full Qwerty & Bigger screen.
The biggest drawback on the Pearl for me was the the small screen & watching movies. When I'm traveling, I like being able to watch a movie on my Berry and the Pearl was just not happening for that.
I love my Curve - it's perfect for someone who needs to be able to reply to email asap. The full QWERTY is so great!
I've never tried SureType but if size is a big issue, the Pearl's your choice. The Curve isn't too much bigger & the added features make it def worth it.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com