Compared against 8300, 8900, and 85xx, pearl blows them all out of water.
Guys, whatever you do, if you like to be able to hear your ringtones clear & be able to listen to your music off speakerphone nice and loud, do not get rid of your Pearl.

We just got 8900 for my wife, and boy, that thing sounds wimpy!

The speaker is buried underneath pile of plastic, while with Pearl you have two huge speakers putting out very loud music without problems, and especially when you remove the battery cover, that thing sounds like a stand-alone music player!

that's kind of disappointing to hear. I presume you're speaking of the 8120 or 30 b/c my dad has an 8130 & the sound is day & night compared to my 8100 (which I still love better in other ways). At a minimum, they should add its speakers into all their devices. It's seems like RIM has is getting cheaper in this regard & this holds them back imo. I love the pearl form factor & recent phone sales show that it is the # 3 selling phone model despite being older..

I think Pearl is a much better device build quality-wise. It is sturdy, does not squeak like 8300's, feel solid and obviously RIM used higher quality material while putting it together.

me loves my pearl! can't wait till the 3G version out whenever

RIM has improved sound quality on 9000, but must agree the 8900 is a dampner in that respect. Pearl still rocks