The only real advantage to the 8130 Pearl over something like the 8330 Curve is the size. Both phones are running the same BlackBerry software but I've noticed anytime a customer comes into our store with a BlackBerry issue, 95% of the time it's the Pearl not the Curve. If the size of the phone is not an issue, hands down pass on the pearl and go with a Curve or Bold depending on your carrier. As far as durability goes, if you ask me if the curve is durable I throw mine against the wall all the time and nothing happens to it. There's a reason why the military carries the curves.

Hope that helps.